The Case For Egypt To Take Over Gaza

 

OutSyed The Box

Monday, March 3, 2025

The Case For Egypt To Take Over Gaza

 

 

Some background. Culturally, linguistically, 'culinarily', historically Gaza has always been a part of Egypt. Gazans are actually Egyptians. They speak the same Arabic 'dialect'. Egyptians and Gazans pronounce the 'j' as 'g'. So Al Jazeera becomes Al Gazeera. 'Jamal' becomes 'Gamal'. 

When Egypt was under the Ottomans (for 300 years until 1914) Gaza was just a part of Egypt. Gaza became a 'separate' entity AFTER the British invaded Ottoman territory in the Middle East in 1917 during World War 1. 

Then after World War 2, for 19 years from 1948 until 1967 Gaza "returned" back to Egypt. No one, not even the Gazans, complained that they were under occupation by Egypt throughout those 19 years. Gazans were Egyptian citizens and carried Egyptian passports. For 19 years there was absolutely no proposal, suggestion or even any hint of an idea that Gaza should become a Palestinian state. Gaza was part of Egypt. Period.

Here is a view from the Middle East that Egypt should take over Gaza. This is not my view but I fully agree with this suggestion and I have mentioned it a few times before. I have also said that the West Bank should go back to Jordan because before 1967 there was no such thing as the West Bank either. There was only Jordan.

Egypt to control Gaza

MARCH 2, 2025

• 2.2. million people in Gaza Strip, area 360 sq.km. 
• Sinai, Egypt is adjacent to Gaza
• area 60,000 sq.km. 170 times size of Gaza
• Sinai population 600,000
• Gaza’s population density 600 times larger than Sinai

• Ethnically and culturally, people in Gaza and Sinai alike
• speak the same language, share same religion
• many share family ties, particularly in Rafah
• border splits many families on either side of Rafah city

• Sinai largely arena for drugs, weapons and human trafficking
• vast territory is idle, little or no agriculture or solar energy
• El-Arish port is largely empty with limited capacity
• Turning El-Arish into Gaza’s main port a boon for everyone: 
• Egypt and Gaza would benefit greatly

• Sinai presents efficient and practical solution for Gaza
• If one million Gazans relocate to Sinai 
• set a path towards gainful employment, economic growth, prosperity.

• sole requirement is to insist on voluntary movement into Sinai
• Egypt must open the border at Rafah 
• and desist from its refusal to let Gazans out
• If Rafah border opens large majority of Gazans will move
• as much as 80%, will leave of their own volition

• Egypt dependent on US and Israel 
• Without American financial, security assistance, Egypt cannot survive
• When ISIS gained foothold in Sinai, Israel air force, special forces got job done
• helped Egypt overcome the severe problem. 
• Today, Egypt turns to Israel for assistance

• not clear if Egypt wants to solve Gaza problem or perpetuate it
• Egypt’s strategy is to preserve Gaza problem to keep Israel occupied 
• Egypt maintains status as mediator between Israel and Hamas
• at the same time profiting from smuggling from Sinai to Gaza 
• also from goods passing “officially” through Rafah crossing

• In practice, Egypt collaborates completely with Hamas
• All their mediation efforts coordinated with Hamas 
• (OSTB : Because Hamas controls the smuggling inside Gaza)

• entire relationship between US-Egypt and Israel-Egypt needs reset
• responsibility for Gaza should rest with Egypt, as it did prior to 1967
• US must convince Egyptians to play an active role in Gaza

My Comments :

Egyptian president Abdul Fatah el Sisi's son controls the smuggling business, the logistics business and the official crossing from Egypt into Gaza at Ramallah. They make hundreds of millions of US Dollars. This means the Egyptian president and the Army generals also make millions of US Dollars from controlling the Gaza "business".

(This is an almost exact duplicate of the situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Pakistan Army controls all cross border trade into landlocked Afghanistan).

So the Egyptian generals will never agree to taking over Gaza. They will lose all those millions of US Dollars.

This is where the US has to be creative and possibly offer the generals a large piece of the reconstruction business in Gaza (to be paid for by Qatar and other Arab regimes). 

In this plan, ultimately Egypt will have to take back Gaza. If they do not then Donald Trump can do what he is best at doing - 'You are fired'. The Egyptian regime can be easily replaced - maybe with another general.