Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces are determined to complete the ground assault on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, to which nearly one and a half million Gazans have been displaced. He added that they will continue despite mounting international pressure and will carry out the ground invasion of Rafah, while evacuating civilians from combat areas.
In response, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that the United States must make clear to Israel the consequences of carrying out a military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, after Washington expressed its opposition to such a step.
Shoukry said at a press conference in Cairo with Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): “Statements are not enough, and declaring opposition is not enough; it is also important to indicate what if this position is circumvented? And what if this position is not respected?”
Speaking in English, Shoukry added: “It is also up to the international community and the United States, which have indicated their rejection of such a possibility, to clarify the consequences if their appeals are not heeded”.
He also warned that the humanitarian consequences and loss of life that could result from the situation would be “catastrophic”.
Egypt has previously warned of the “dire consequences” of a possible Israeli military assault near its border, where the Rafah crossing is also located, the focal point of efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and allow the wounded and foreign passport holders to leave the Strip.
USD 6 Billion from the World Bank for Egypt
Dr Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation and Egypt’s governor at the World Bank Group, announced the group’s intention to provide USD 6 billion in financing over the next three years: USD 3 billion to support the economic reform programme the government is implementing and USD 3 billion to empower the private sector.
She explained in a statement today that this comes as part of the Bank’s commitment to a long-term strategic partnership with Egypt, and in support of the economic reform measures the state is taking to achieve economic recovery and inclusive, sustainable growth.
The Minister of International Cooperation held a meeting today, Monday, with Anna Bjerde, the World Bank Group’s vice-president for operations, at which the two sides discussed the pillars of the strategic partnership between Egypt and the group and moving forward with joint cooperation programmes to strengthen the state’s efforts to boost the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and implement economic reform programmes, within the framework of the new financing package.
The financing package provided by the World Bank Group focuses on increasing opportunities for private sector participation in the economy and strengthening its role in development efforts, through several pillars including implementing the government offerings programme, strengthening the governance of state-owned companies, and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public resource management.
Security Breaks Up a Protest Demanding the Opening of the Rafah Crossing
Security forces today, Monday, broke up a protest organised by a number of politicians in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Cairo, demanding the opening of the Rafah crossing to aid bound for the Gaza Strip. Members of the Karama and Socialist Popular Alliance parties took part in the demonstration, along with a number of politicians and rights defenders, most prominently Hamdeen Sabahi, Ragia Omran and Dr Mona Mina.
Security forces had arrested an unknown number of people on Friday at a protest in the Dekheila area of the Agami district, west of Alexandria Governorate in northern Egypt. The protest, which included limited numbers, set out after Friday prayers, and protesters raised banners rejecting rising prices and poor living conditions under the slogan “You have starved us, Sisi”.
According to information obtained by Zawia3, the protest came out spontaneously from citizens living in the area, while security forces intervened to break it up minutes after it began, arresting dozens who were questioned by National Security before being released, while a number of other protesters remained in detention and their place of detention has not yet been announced.
Users of the social media platforms X and Facebook circulated a video showing dozens taking part in a protest in Dekheila, carrying banners reading: “You have starved us, Sisi”, “Leave, Awad” and “The people, the police and the army are one hand”. The protesters wrote the day’s date on the banners for further documentation and to prevent their authenticity being questioned.
The protest comes days after activists on social media circulated a video of an Egyptian police secretary who climbed onto a billboard in Sidi Gaber in Alexandria Governorate; the video documented the young man chanting against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi while carrying a Palestinian flag.
Egypt-Europe Relations Upgraded to a “Strategic Partnership” and EUR 7.4 Billion Injected
With the aim of “achieving a qualitative leap in cooperation and coordination to achieve common interests”, Egypt strengthened its partnership with the European Union, raising relations between the two sides to the level of a “strategic and comprehensive partnership”, during an Egyptian-European summit hosted by Cairo on Sunday, according to an official statement by the Egyptian presidential spokesman, Counsellor Ahmed Fahmy.
Experts who spoke to “Asharq Al-Awsat” considered the upgrade of relations “an important step” aimed at “supporting Egypt in facing political and economic challenges”, pointing to a European financing package for Cairo.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday a EUR 7.4 billion financial support package for Egypt in the areas of trade and investment, spread over the coming years. Von der Leyen said at a joint press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the heads of government of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Austria that it would raise the level of the relationship between the EU and Egypt to that of a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
Agence France-Presse quoted a European official, who asked not to be named, as saying that “the agreements fall within the framework of a strategic and comprehensive partnership between the European Union and Egypt”, explaining that they “include loans worth EUR 5 billion, investments worth EUR 1.8 billion, EUR 400 million in aid for bilateral projects, and EUR 200 million to support programmes addressing migration issues”. He added that “Egypt is an important country for Europe today and in the future”, pointing to “the important location of the Arab country in a difficult neighbourhood between Libya, Sudan and the Gaza Strip”.
Egypt is facing a pressing economic crisis amid the decline in the pound’s exchange rate and a shortage of foreign currency. On 6 March, the Central Bank of Egypt announced the liberalisation of the pound’s exchange rate, allowing it to be determined by market mechanisms.
Rights Organisations Issue a Statement Addressed to the Leaders of the Egyptian-European Summit
A number of Egyptian and European rights organisations issued a statement ahead of the Egyptian-European summit, which began its work on Sunday, to discuss a new bilateral partnership agreement between Egypt and the European Union.
The statement urged taking the necessary measures to ensure respect for human rights and the principles of social and environmental sustainability and equality in Egyptian-European relations, and to ensure these principles are incorporated into the bilateral agreement between the EU and Egypt. It added: “Our concerns about the content and scope of this partnership, based on the partnership the EU signed with Tunisia in 2023, stem from Egypt’s appalling human rights record, including in areas such as border surveillance and control and migration management, which the deal covers. We point out that it is essential for the EU and member states to address the human rights and accountability crises in Egypt by including clear benchmarks for reform in the upcoming partnership, in order to strengthen the rule of law, accountable governance and stability; otherwise, the financial support provided by the EU will help support the same unsustainable policies pursued by the Egyptian government, which have undermined political and economic rights”.
The Ministry of Labour Suspends the Activity of the Suez Canal Clubs Workers’ Union
The Suez Canal Clubs Workers’ Union said in a statement that it is facing an attack and persecution, the latest episode of which is the Ministry of Labour suspending the union’s activity. This means obstructing the union from meeting its financial obligations, such as paying the rent of the union’s headquarters and its utilities, gas and water, and staff salaries. Likewise, union members’ subscriptions for last February, which were deducted from their salaries, have not yet been transferred to the union’s account for no known reason.
The union’s statement added that this illegitimate decision has serious consequences for it, as it seeks to disrupt the union’s work in violation of the law and the constitution, deprives its members of the right to collective bargaining with the administration, collecting subscriptions, representing workers and other roles, and is an indicator of a tendency by government bodies to deal with the union violently.
It went on: “The pretext the Ministry of Labour gives for this shameful decision is the absence of a caretaker board at the union, but this contradicts Ministerial Decision No. 1061 of 8 September 2022 on the rules for approving the formation of union caretaker committees, which recognised the right of union committees that have not held elections to form a board to run their affairs after submitting the required papers. The general assembly of the Suez Canal Clubs Workers’ Union met this requirement in 2022, holding its general assembly on 10 August 2022, and the ministry officially received the assembly’s letter so that it could complete the 2022/2026 union term”. It added that the motives behind this decision cannot be separated from the union’s positions in independently defending its members’ rights, defending union and labour rights, and showing solidarity with other workers, most recently the imprisoned Mahalla spinning workers.
The union was founded on 12 February 2012 following the declaration of trade union freedoms issued by the Minister of Manpower and Migration. It is the first union for workers at the Suez Canal Authority clubs, whose workers had no union committees affiliated with the government-run Egyptian Trade Union Federation. In 2018, it regularised its status in accordance with Trade Union Organisations and Protection of the Right to Organise Law No. 213 of 2017 and its executive regulations, and the Manpower Directorate’s certificate to that effect was published in the Egyptian Gazette in its issue of 12 February 2020.
Trade and Industry Ministry Bans Sugar Exports for 3 Months
Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir issued a decision to continue the ban on sugar exports for three months, in implementation of Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2023, which provides for halting the export of all types of sugar except quantities surplus to the needs of the local market, as estimated by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, and after the minister’s approval, with the decision to be published in the Egyptian Gazette.
In the same context, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revealed his government’s readiness, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt, to provide the foreign currency resources needed to import one million tonnes of sugar, adding that the state has taken import measures and some shipments have already begun to arrive, so that there is no gap in this commodity.
