EGYPT - A Regional Model for Peace
In a recent speech that drew wide attention across the Middle East, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the decades-old peace between Egypt and Israel could serve as a model for the entire region. His remarks come as the Gaza war enters its second year, regional alliances shift, and Donald Trump’s return to the White House signals possible changes in American Middle East policy.
Samir Ragheb, chairman of the Arab Foundation for Development and Strategic Studies, offered a candid assessment: “The peace treaty has worked well between governments. Relations between the Egyptian state and Israeli state function. But between the people of both countries? That hasn’t worked.
Political analyst Walid Kazziha, a former professor at the American University in Cairo, echoed the view, adding that Israeli policies have complicated Egypt’s position.
Beneath the political tensions, economic cooperation between Egypt and Israel has continued—and even grown. Trade reportedly rose by more than 60% during the Gaza war.
Key sectors, including agriculture and gas, have remained closely linked. Israeli products often enter Egypt discreetly, Ragheb added, “sold as if from another country—labeled as made in China or the United Arab Emirates. The average consumer doesn’t realize they’re from Israel,” he said.
-themedialine.org, 27 April 2025
Arno's Commentary
The peace treaty signed 46 years ago (26 March 1979) between Egypt and Israel is a remarkable reality. But there is much lacking. As Samir Ragheb says, a “peace treaty prevents war but doesn’t build relationships between ordinary citizens in either country.”
During the Gaza War, Egypt has acted reluctantly, and to a degree complied with Israeli demands.
Noticeable is the fact that economic cooperation between Egypt and Israel continues to grow, even “under the table.”
Doubtless, Israel has the upper hand: With a highly educated workforce from a population of about 10 million, the nation can be considered a world leader per capita.
But there is more to come. Here we again point to Isaiah 19:23-25, where we read of the future of Egypt in relation to Syrians and Israel: “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.”
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
