Israeli Threats Against Egypt
Hassan Tahsin
Guest Contributor
Every time that Israel finds itself backed into a political corner it immediately attacks Egypt, which it considers the biggest threat to its existence. It is Egypt’s continued support and backing of the Palestinian struggle for independence and refusal to normalize relations with Israel that irks the Jewish state. To make matters worse, Cairo stands by President Arafat. An Israeli general in the army of occupation threatened to bomb the Aswan Dam if Egypt doesn’t back down from its pro-Palestinian stand.
Ever since the public opinion poll that revealed that most Europeans thought Israel was the greatest threat to world peace and security, Israeli-European relations have been strained. Israel decided that its best way out was to attack Egypt. Numerous plots have been hatched to destroy Egypt’s economy. Israel is hoping for a reckless reaction on the part of Egypt that would help it overcome its current crisis with the EU.
Israel concentrated on finding alternatives to the Suez Canal; first to reduce its importance and then to phase it out completely. It wants to do so by digging a new canal that links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean from Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba to the area that separates Gaza from the port of Asqalan on the Mediterranean. Since such a project would be difficult to implement, it proposed to build a railway line to transport goods and containers from Eilat to Ashdood Harbor on the Mediterranean.
Not content with announcing such plans, Israel went ahead and reactivated the oil pipeline that begins in Eilat and ends at Asqalan in order to threaten Egypt’s Sumeed pipeline.
These Israeli plots are threats, not economically viable projects — they have met with much reservation from specialists in the field of transport in general and sea transport in particular. Some have described them as pressure cards that are being applied to Egypt and the Arabs to make them change their position on Israel, accept the status quo and back off from demanding an independent Palestinian state.
Others see a more ominous objective.
These projects in fact correspond with Binyamin Netanyahu’s theory that the best war that can be launched against Egypt is a limited economic war, not a political or military war, because Egypt is poor. If Israel succeeds in reducing the value of the Suez Canal or abolishing its strategic role in global trade, he believes, that will be a deathblow to Egypt.
Netanyahu is quite ignorant of the nature of the Egyptian people and their boundless ability to confront dangers, especially those of economic blockade. It is the only nation on earth that during harsh times ate “black bread” without complaint. Egyptians made it clear to the whole world that economic pressure on Egypt will not shake them, and this forced their enemies to change their tactics and follow the policy of understanding and dialogue instead of pressure and economic blockade.
Let Netanyahu ask the Jewish clergy why they have a special prayer every day wishing illness, ruin, death and destruction upon the Egyptians. If they answer sincerely, he will find that Egypt and Egyptians will never stand silent in the face of Israeli aggression, that they are capable of withstanding any danger and will not kowtow anyone politically, economically or militarily.
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