An Egyptian veteran diplomat’s call to resort to Israel in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) raised much controversy and was met with rejection by a number of Egyptian writers and politicians who accused Tel Aviv of supporting Ethiopia in exchange for receiving a share of the Nile River water. 

In an interview on TV show “Yahdoth fi Masr” ("Happening in Egypt"), broadcast on the Saudi-owned satellite channel MBC July 13, Moustafa Feki, director of the Library of Alexandria, called on the concerned parties to resort to Israel to resolve the dispute over the GERD, which Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River, amid the stalled decadelong negotiations on the dam between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. 

Feki said Israel has influence over Ethiopia, Russia and the United States, and may therefore hold some sway over the GERD crisis.

He recommended that Cairo resort to unconventional solutions to pressure Ethiopia into reaching a binding legal agreement over water management of the GERD that takes into account Egyptian concerns.