Why Egypt is lending its support to the Palestinians
Egypt's support for the Palestinians in the latest conflict — in which Cairo helped broker a cease-fire — has drawn attention among observers who see it as a policy shift.
Egypt has successfully brokered a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, effectively ending 11 days of hostilities that have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza strip and 12 Israelis. The truce was announced May 20 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said his security Cabinet had agreed to accept the Egyptian initiative for a bilateral unconditional cease-fire.
Egypt had earlier joined other Arab countries in condemning Israel's latest assaults on Gaza and in calling for support of the Palestinians. The rare rebuke of Israel by Egypt has drawn attention given Cairo's warming of ties with Tel Aviv in recent years and the fact that the Egyptian authorities had perceived Hamas, the Islamist group ruling Gaza, as a branch of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Unlike other Arab governments that have vented their frustration and anger over Israel's incessant bombardment of Gaza by merely condemning the Israeli aggression, the Egyptian leadership has taken concrete steps toward ending the violence.
The latest Israeli airstrikes and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip came in retaliation for a barrage of rockets fired into Israel by Hamas. The rocket attacks were provoked by an assault on Palestinian worshippers by Israeli security forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque after protests erupted following noon prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan to condemn Israeli settlers' attempts to forcibly evict tens of Palestinian families from their homes in the Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood some days earlier.
