Analysis: Why Egypt made revival of Middle East Peace talks priority?

CAIRO: 19 September 2017: Since his arrival to New York to participate in the 72th UN General Assembly, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has made the peace process in the Middle East a priority.

In his speech before the UNGA al-Sisi called on the Israelis and Palestinians to trust their leaderships and repeat the example of Egypt and Israel, and urged the Palestinians in his Tuesday speech at the United Nations General Assembly to unite.

He emphasized that security in the region is based on ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and addressed Palestinians by saying that it is important to believe in statehood alongside an Israeli state.

Egypt brokered a Palestinian national reconciliation government this week, which will take over the authority the West Bank, as well as Gaza, which had been controlled by Hamas. Cairo hopes the new Palestinian government will engage in peace negotiations with Israel, as Sisi has already tackled the issue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Monday, President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi held talks with Palestinian president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss boasting the peace talks. Earlier Egypt was successful to press Hamas to announce dismantling its administrative authority to Gaza and form a unity government with its rival Palestinian fictions.

“The preparation for the Egyptian efforts to promote peace in the Middle East started months ago, we believe that having a Palestinian reconciliation is an important to key to start peace talks,” said an Egyptian official asked not to be named told Egypt Today
He added that Egypt believes that the UNGA is the right venue to bring back the Palestinian and Israeli conflict to the world spotlight.
“The root of the Middle East instability is the Palestinian Israeli conflict, establishing two states would bring peace and stability to the region,” the official said.

For over a decade, Egypt has played a key role in putting an end for the over- a decade dispute between Hamas and Fatah after the first announced on Sunday that it has dissolved administrative committee at the Gaza Strip, to be replaced with the Government of National Reconciliation.

Egyptian authorities exerted endless efforts in order to revive the peace process in the Middle East by arranging the inner Palestinian political theatre since the very beginning of the dispute between both movements of Hamas and Fatah.

Egypt hosted talks between President Abbas and 12 Palestinian political factions in 2005. The declaration stressed on establishing a Palestinian state, whose capital is Jerusalem, as well as easing tensions with Israel if it stopped its aggression against the Palestinian people and territories and if it released detainees.

The declaration also objected settlements, the Israeli-West Bank barrier and Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem.

Regarding internal affairs, participants of the talks agreed on assuming reforms in different sectors, setting a legislative law, and holding municipal and legislative elections. That is in addition to forming a committee that would set principles upon which the Palestinian Liberation Organization would be developed. The committee would comprise of members of all national factions.

Participants concurred that internal conflicts must be resolved through dialogue and abandoning violence.

That accord was signed by different Palestinian factions in Cairo in 2009, building upon the principles set in the declaration. The accord had set precise measures that must be taken in order to achieve the inclusion of all factions in the political process.

The accord is divided into five sections: the Palestinian Liberation Organization, elections, security, national reconciliations and freeing detainees of all factions.

On April 27, 2011, Palestinian factions agreed on forming a temporary inclusive government and holding presidential and legislative elections in 2012.

On May 4, 2011, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the head of the Hamas Political Bureau at that time, Khaled Mashal, signed the accord, setting the founding principles to form the transitional technocrat government responsible for holding elections.

The accord also allowed Hamas to join the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which is currently dominated by Fatah.

The accord aimed at restoring unity among the Palestinian political actors after four years of conflict starting in 2007. It was inked by the Egyptian authority in 2009, and was accepted by the two parties in May 2011 following Palestinian demonstrations.

Fatah representatives Azzam El Ahmed and Sakhr Bseiso met in Cairo with Hamas representatives Mousa Abou Marzouk and Mohamed Nasr on May 12, 2012. They agreed on starting discussions on the formation of the government on May 27, 2012. The discussions would be assumed by the Hamas and Fatah delegations in Gaza, and be concluded within 10 days.

Both delegations concurred that Egypt would supervise and observe each party’s fulfillment of its duties, as well as issues of public freedoms.

The Hamas movement announced on Sunday the dissolution of the administrative committee in the Gaza Strip, inviting the Government of National Reconciliation to assume its duties and hold general elections. The movement affirmed that it would comply with the Social Reconciliation Accord signed with Fatah in 2011.

In July 2017, Hamas announced forming an administrative committee in the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian authorities accused Hamas then of attempting to form a shadow government and forming an independent state in Gaza.

Hamas and Fatah would start a dialogue and form a national unity government upon the Egyptian initiative to achieve unity among Palestinian powers.

Head of the Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Cairo on September 10 to meet with a number of Egyptian officials to discuss inter-Palestinian reconciliation and the situation of the Gazan people, according to Hamas’ statement. That is his first visit since he took office last May.

A delegation from the Fatah movement, being led by head of the Fatah parliamentary bloc Azzam al-Ahmed, arrived on Saturday in Cairo to discuss ways to implement Palestinian reconciliation.

For his part, Egyptian political science professor, Moataz Abdel-Fattah, stated to Egypt Today that the Statement of Hamas today cut off the arms of Qatar, Iran and Turkey from our north-east borders, in addition to serving a blow to terrorism in northeastern Sinai.

“Hamas’ statement is a message to the U.S. Congress that Egypt might stumble due to unforeseen circumstances, but return to lead which means that our intelligence and our apparatuses have a project for the region that stands against the competing projects. It is also a blow to Israel, which has long protested that "Abbas" is weak, Hamas is terrorist, Egypt is busy, and Syria has committed suicide,” said Abdel-Fattah.

He added that Hamas’ statement comes with the presence of our presidential delegation in the house of snakes to convey to the world who we are and what we want for our region and the world.

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA

Also Tarek Fahmy, professor of political science, stated to Egypt Today that the Egyptian move from the beginning was for the purpose of securing Egyptian borders and Egyptian national security, as well as providing facilities to the strip with its residents and citizens, especially for the expansion of the bonds of families.

Fahmy added that contacts and meetings between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides continued calmly, in a completely different manner than what happened in Egypt in the previous Cairo dialogues.

Egypt received delegations from various Palestinian factions, with the aim to unify trends, and bring the views of all factions together, especially between Fatah and Hamas.

“I have written frequently reminding everyone that the doors of Cairo are open to all, and all factions must realize that only Egypt can unite and not divide. The Qatari, Turkish or Iranian option for some factions, especially Fatah, was not a transitory station to try to emphasize the existence of the alternative to Egypt but is a failed option from the beginning,” said Fahmy to Egypt Today.

He pointed out that Egypt has had many confrontations before reaching the point of pushing Hamas to accept decisions that will not stop when the administrative committee is dissolved, as some thought would happen, after Hamas’ leaders responded to the Egyptian proposal.


Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA


Fatah leaders’ response to the Egyptian proposal will have an impact in the foreseeable future, adding that the issue is deeper and greater than the opening and closing of the crossing. The issue involves a set of measures that Cairo is seeking to approve that extend the functions of the Palestinian Authority and the government to the Strip, read Fahmy.

“Cairo has strong relations with some leaders such as Muhammad Dahlan, a center of gravity whose pivotal role cannot be disregarded or his essentiality in any future arrangements, on the other hand, we have close relations with the other leaders of Jihad, the Popular and Democratic Movement as well, stressing that Egypt coordinated with all Palestinian factions,” added Fahmy.

He concluded his comment with saying that Egypt has and will continue to bear more. He stressed that this is their “choice” and their “destiny” and that it is for their security and national commitment to the Palestinian people.

Egyptian authorities remain resilient to put the finish marks of the peace process, thus President Abdel Fatah al Sisi received in his residence in New York on Monday the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas following the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas.

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA

Sisi meets with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan in sideline of the UNGA