Egypt has found itself on unstable ground when in comes to an aid Convoy of around 1,700 activists that had set off from Tunis, Tunisia to the border with Gaza in solidarity with Palestinian civilians.
Around 1,700 activists have set off from Tunis in buses and cars, according to the state news agency TAP, including around 200 from Algeria. The convoy has travelled through several cities in Tunisia and from there into neighbouring Libya. It will continue along the Mediterranean coast to Egypt and finally to Rafah. Ahmed Ghniyah, western coordinator of the “Convoy of Steadfastness,” reported receiving around 400 requests from Libyan volunteers eager to join the aid convoy as it passes through the country. The activists say they want to use the convoy to draw attention to the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip and protest against Israel’s attacks. The plan was for them to walk about 50 kilometers from the coastal town of Al-Arish to the Rafah border crossing on Friday. They plan to demonstrate there for several days starting on Sunday.
This significant solidarity is important as it details the number of volunteers who have expresses support and love for the Palestinians in their homeland. The Israelis are furious and exerting pressure on Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi to prevent the entry of the activists into Gaza. But public and international outrage at the treatment of the convoy is growing. As the convoy of “Solidarity Activists for Palestine” approached the border separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt the Cairo regime warned the activists who are carrying medical, food and humanitarian aid not to pass without permits. This comes as Egypt is experiencing escalating tensions with Israel over the convoy. This humanitarian convoy has certainly attracted attention to its efforts to raise awareness over the crisis Palestinians are facing in the coastal strip. The convoy is risking arrest from either the Egyptian or the Zionist regimes over the publicity of their cause.
There is also the matter of tensions between Tel Aviv and Cairo.
Returning to Egypt’s role in the Gaza crisis, President Sisi accused Israel during his speech at the Arab summit of “a systematic campaign to destroy Gaza and force its inhabitants to leave.” He said, “Israel spared no stone, no child, no elderly person… What is happening in Gaza is not just a war — it is an attempt to make the area uninhabitable and force its people to flee.” Despite these strong statements, Egypt continued increasing its imports of Israeli gas to unprecedented levels. The Israeli company NeoMed Energy, holding a 45.3% stake in the Leviathan gas field, has already submitted plans to the Egyptian government to double shipments to more than 2 billion cubic feet per day by 2030. On December 19, 2024, the Israeli government approved plans for a third pipeline linking Israel to Egypt, aiming to double Cairo’s current imports from Tel Aviv to about 10 billion cubic meters annually.
The Arab Summit Sisi was addressing was in Baghdad, Iraq earlier in June. Although the Egyptian President is known to have ruled with an iron fist gave an impassioned speech on the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza his regime retains warm relations with the Israelis. The Israelis for their part have not been passive on Egyptian military escalation in the Sinai. The Israelis have accused Cairo over violating the 1979 treaty but Tel Aviv could just be fretting over a petty skirmish to detract attention from the war it is fighting in Gaza. The Israelis for their part still continue to send free gas to the Egyptians. Egypt unfortunately can barely survive without the natural gas given the crippled and sclerotic state of its economy.
The arrival of the solidarity convoy in the Sinai Peninsula serves as a warning to the Israelis that ordinary Arab civilians as well as Arab governments like Algeria will not forgive them for their war in Gaza.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
