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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has hailed the success of his country’s peace agreement with Israel, describing it as a "model to be followed" despite the rising tension between the two countries.
“History bears witness that the peace between Egypt and Israel, which was achieved through American mediation, is a model to be followed in ending conflicts and cycles of revenge,” Mr El Sisi said on Sinai Liberation Day on Friday.
“Today, we speak with one voice: just peace is the option that everyone should strive for.”
After months of simmering tension, Egypt's relations with Israel are deteriorating. Distrust has been fuelled by US proposals to resettle Palestinians in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and claims that Cairo may be building its military forces near the border with Israel in preparation for war.
Egypt's recent arms purchases, including an advanced Chinese-made air defence system, is contributing to the heightened tension, sources told The National this week.
Meanwhile, Israeli media has sounded the alarm over Egypt's military build-up and raised questions about Cairo's intentions.
Relations between the neighbours have been tense since the Gaza war between Hamas and Israel broke out in October 2023.
That tension was heightened significantly in May 2024 when Israel seized the strip of land that runs along Egypt's border with Gaza on the Palestinian side. It was a move that angered Cairo, which claimed it was a serious breach of the 1979 peace treaty and subsequent accords.
Tension spiked again when Israel embraced and began to act upon a proposal made in January by US President Donald Trump to resettle Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan and for Washington to take over the enclave on the east Mediterranean coast and turn it into a glitzy resort.
The leaders of Egypt and Israel have not spoken directly about the deterioration in relations.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has, according to sources, leaked its growing concern to media outlets about Egypt's military build-up in the Sinai Peninsula.
In his remarks on Friday, Mr El Sisi urged international powers, especially the US, to recommit to peacemaking efforts. He was speaking ahead of Mr Trump's trip to the Gulf next month.
“We look forward to the international community, led by the United States, and President Trump in particular, playing the role expected of it in this regard,” Mr El Sisi said.
The Egypt-Israel peace accord, signed in Washington in 1979 by then-President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, remains the longest-standing Arab-Israeli peace agreement.
It ended decades of war between the nations and set a precedent for future deals, including Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel in 1994 and the Abraham Accords in 2020.
