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The Egyptians Are Improving Their Positions

(Israel Hayom) Dr. Yehuda Balanga - In recent weeks, Israeli media have reported extensively on the reinforcement of Egyptian forces in Sinai. Since 2004, Egypt has built 60 crossings (bridges and tunnels) over the Suez Canal and established dozens of ammunition depots, underground storage facilities, logistics centers, and fuel reserves in Sinai. The modernization of Egypt's armed forces have accelerated since Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power. Despite the peace agreement, Egypt has always regarded Israel as an enemy. In its education system, culture, and media, Israel is portrayed as an oppressive, murderous foreign occupier and an imperialist threat to regional peace. To counter what it perceives as the Israeli threat, Egypt maintains the 11th-largest army in the world, with an air force with 600 aircraft including 350 fighter jets, an armored corps with 5,300 tanks, and an overall force of 460,000 active-duty soldiers and 480,000 reservists. About half of its tanks date back to the Soviet era. Its air force includes 168 F-16 fighter jets; the rest consists mainly of older Mirage and MiG-29 aircraft. Normalization is not on the table. However, contrary to popular sentiment, successive Egyptian regimes have opted to maintain the peace. For Egypt, peace is a foundation of internal stability, a gateway to international cooperation and Western aid, and a means to allocate budgets toward domestic development. There is no need to escalate rhetoric or frame Egypt as an imminent threat. Israel can protest and demand explanations, but disputes should be resolved through the existing diplomatic channels. Ultimately, peace remains a shared Israeli-Egyptian interest. The writer is an expert on the Arab world in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University.
2025-02-23 00:00:00
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