For Jerusalem to sign a $35 billion economic bailout while its security demands regarding the border remain unmet is a failure of statecraft.
In the coming days, the Israeli government is expected to ratify the largest export agreement in its history: a $35 billion expansion of natural-gas supplies to Egypt from the Leviathan reservoir. Framed by proponents in Israel and the United States as a masterstroke of regional integration, the deal is predicated on a neoliberal theory of “instrumental interdependence”—the belief that binding Cairo’s economic survival to Israeli resources will purchase stability on the southern border.
However, an analysis of the current geopolitical landscape suggests this policy is decoupled from reality. While the Israeli Ministry of Energy finalizes pipelines, the Ministry of Defense is grappling with a security vacuum in the Sinai that has allowed nearly 900 drone infiltration incidents in just three months. Simultaneously, the diplomatic veneer has cracked, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi publicly labeling Israel an “enemy” at the recent Doha summit. By rushing to approve this accord without stringent security conditionality, Israel risks subsidizing a regime that is increasingly hostile in rhetoric and ineffective in border governance.
The urgency behind this deal is driven by Egypt’s acute energy crisis, not Israel’s economic necessity. The collapse of Egypt’s Zohr gas field—plagued by water infiltration and mismanagement—has turned a would-be energy hub into a desperate importer, forcing the el-Sisi regime to implement rolling blackouts that threaten domestic stability.
...For Israel to sign a $35 billion economic bailout while its security demands regarding the border remain unmet is a failure of statecraft. It signals that Israel is willing to function as a utility provider to a neighbor that permits its territory to serve as a launchpad for attrition warfare. (Ed note: Great article, a must read.) (Read More)
...For Israel to sign a $35 billion economic bailout while its security demands regarding the border remain unmet is a failure of statecraft. It signals that Israel is willing to function as a utility provider to a neighbor that permits its territory to serve as a launchpad for attrition warfare. (Ed note: Great article, a must read.) (Read More)