By David Rosenberg, World Israel News Staff
Egypt is threatening to end the decades-old peace treaty with Israel, according to a report by a Qatari newspaper, if the Trump administration terminates American aid to Egypt over Cairo’s opposition to the Gaza resettlement plan.
On Tuesday, Al Araby al-Jadeen cited multiple diplomatic sources claiming that Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has suspended plans to meet with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, amid the continuing disagreement between the two over Trump’s Gaza resettlement plan.
On February 1st, Trump spoke with el-Sisi by phone, the White House said, making no mention of the president’s Gaza plan, though a readout of the call said the two discussed the Gaza Strip.
This Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog revealed that Trump is slated to meet with a number of senior Arab leaders, including Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and el-Sisi.
All three leaders have publicly rejected Trump’s plan to resettle Gaza’s population in third-party countries.
On Monday, Trump said he may halt American aid to Cairo and Amman if Egypt and Jordan refuse to take in Gaza refugees.
The U.S. gives Egypt an estimated $2.1 billion annually, and $1.4 billion to Jordan.
In response, diplomatic sources told Al Araby al-Jadeen, Egypt is mulling terminating the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, signed after Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to handover the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.
“Egypt has decided to take precautions against any potential halt of U.S. aid and has prepared emergency plans to deal with U.S. pressure regarding the displacement issue,” sources cited by Tuesday’s report claimed.
