The Conversation, Mar. 7, 2025
“Cairo is apprehensive about Israel’s potential strategy of forcibly locating Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula, which is on its territory. Egyptian officials have deemed that scenario as a red line. Cairo doesn’t want to be seen as undermining the Palestinian cause.”
How dependent is Egypt on the US?
Over time, Egypt has received more US foreign aid than any country besides Israel. It has received US$78 billion for economic assistance and US$90 billion in military assistance since 1946.
A peace agreement with Israel in 1979 concluded the war between the two countries. Israeli forces withdrew from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Since then, the US has provided Egypt with a fixed amount of US$1.5 billion, of which US$1.3 billion is military aid, every year. It goes to financing Egypt’s purchase of weapons systems from US defence contractors.
US aid has been a cornerstone of Egyptian-US relations for decades.
Since 1979, Egypt has been a central pillar of US policies in the Middle East. Military aid is deemed essential to ensure that the regime in Egypt aligns with US interests. At the same time, this aid is widely seen as contributing to the survival of Egypt’s authoritarian regime.
But history shows that Egypt can soften the potential impact of the US freezing assistance during periods of strained relations.
The US suspended some military assistance to Egypt after the regime change in 2013. During that time, el-Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, received support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He also increased weapon imports from France and Russia. ….SOURCE