Despite some coordination between Egyptian pres. al-Sisi and PA pres. Abbas on the incoming U.S. admin.’s new “outside-in” approach to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, minor disagreements persisted, and the Egyptian-Palestinian relationship remained uneasy. The tensions came into sharp focus on 2/27, when the Egyptian authorities refused PFA chair Rajoub entry into the country for an Arab League meeting on terrorism and extremism, citing a decision by Egyptian intelligence. Rajoub did not respond publicly, and the Palestinian delegation withdrew in protest. Egyptian officials provided no public explanation beyond stating that Rajoub’s name appeared on a no-entry list. “We did not expect Egypt to treat Rajoub that way,” said a senior Fatah official on 3/10, in revealing comments about the incident. “Although I doubt Rajoub attacked Egyptian policy in the first place, some Palestinians are putting words in his mouth and accusing Egypt of interfering in Palestinian internal affairs.” Abbas then met (3/20) with al-Sisi in “response to those calling into question” the Palestinians’ relationship with Egypt, according to the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 3/20.
At the same time, Israel and Egypt were cooperating more closely in the ongoing counterinsurgency campaign against the Sinai Province of the Islamic State (SPIS) and other armed groups in the n. Sinai Peninsula, with the IDF presence in Sinai highlighting a deep tension in the Israeli-Egyptian relationship. One mo. after a major bout of cross-border violence (see 2/18–19 in Chronology for details), Israel’s Amb. to Egypt David Govrin made (3/23) an unusual speech at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies in which he stated, “The relations between Israel and Egypt rely to too great an extent on the military leg.” He added, “If peace is to forge deep roots, it needs to stand on two feet, the military and the civilian-economic. It is only the combination of the two that will ensure long-term cooperation between the countries.” Govrin criticized Egypt’s view of peace as merely an absence of war rather than a full normalization of relations and cultural exchange with Israel. Egypt’s amb. to Israel, Hazem Khairat, then replied to Govrin’s speech, describing relations between the 2 countries as good and commending in particular Israeli-Egyptian security cooperation in Sinai. A spokesperson from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the ambassadorial exchange, saying (3/23), “Israel attaches supreme importance to its relations with Egypt and is committed to advancing them at every level.”
Relations hit a snag in 4/2017 as cross-border tensions erupted again. On 4/10, the Israeli authorities shut down the Taba border crossing into Egypt over suspicions that SPIS was planning to attack Israeli tourists in Sinai. Hours later, SPIS fighters launched a rocket into Israel that struck a greenhouse in the Eshkol region but caused no serious damage or injuries. Although the Israeli authorities ultimately reopened the Taba crossing on 4/21, the National Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned (4/21), “the threat to Israelis in the Sinai remains serious, concrete, and imminent.”
Also of note: Human Rights Watch (HRW) called (4/13) on the Egyptian govt. to “immediately disclose” whether or not it was detaining 4 Gaza men, all reportedly Hamas affiliates abducted on 8/19/2015 as they traveled by bus from the Rafah border crossing to Cairo (see JPS 45 [3]). “Based on media reports, including photographs purporting to show 2 of the men in a Cairo detention facility, the families believe they are in Egyptian custody,” HRW’s report stated. “If true, their prolonged incommunicado detention, with Egyptian authorities denying knowledge of the detention or refusing to reveal their whereabouts, would constitute enforced disappearances. Authorities should immediately charge the men if they suspect them of criminal activity, or otherwise release them.”