'The big question is whether al-Sisi really promised to hand over Sinai lands. That's unlikely'
Photo: Reuters
The Gaza plan that never was
Analysis: Proposal for Palestinian state in Sinai was basically aimed at getting rid of Hamas leadership. But just like they are stuck with Gaza siege, Israel and Egypt are stuck with military wings and missile launchers.
No one likes Gaza, and no one wants to carry it on their head. There are about two million men, women and children living in Gaza without a future, alongside the organizations under Hamas' umbrella. Those who were lucky managed to get as far away from the Strip as possible and make a fresh start. The others are stuck.
He angrily elaborated on what was broadcast here and what he had to say about the "plot" devised behind his back. It won't work, al-Sisi declared. No one is entitled to concede Egyptian lands, not even in favor of the Palestinians.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi did not settle for one sweeping denial of the reports and mountains of commentaries in Israel about the generous offer he allegedly made to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
In the middle of last week, when the Israeli Army Radio's political correspondent was the first to report that al-Sisi had suggested establishing a Palestinian state in Sinai and donating a territory five times bigger than the area of Gaza, the Egyptian president explained in a speech scheduled for the "teachers' holiday" that "I had to get here late because I have been busy drafting denials since 7 am."
New Borders
Yoaz Hendel
Op-ed: Proposal for Palestinian state in Sinai is the first time since the Oslo Accords that an original idea for separation is put on the table.
An hour later, another denial, an official and detailed one, was issued by the presidential palace, and a third statement came out of the foreign ministry in Cairo about the "inventions" and "lies" and the wedge people were trying to drive between Egypt and Abbas.
Judging from the reactions of veteran commentators and esteemed columnists in Cairo, they are not rushing to buy the denials. They are troubled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's silence. They are troubled by the reports that Abbas is the one who revealed al-Sisi's offer and the plan "being concocted against him in Jerusalem" to donate Sinai's sands for the sake of solving the refugees' right of return issue.
Think about it: If these lands are anyway empty, if Hamas is Egypt's headache, and if the plan talks about a demilitarized state under the Palestinian Authority's responsibility, what's wrong with it?
To the Israeli ear this sounds too good to be true, and why didn't anyone think of it before. They truth is someone did: Officials here, in Washington and in Paris, checked out the issue with four Egyptian presidents.
The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper published a summary of the efforts to expropriate lands in Sinai in order to establish the state of Palestinian or throw Gaza into Egypt, as suggested by the late Menachem Begin, the late Yitzhak Rabin and other senior officials who tried to get presidents Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak interested in the idea.
It's interesting that the "Gaza plan" appealed mostly to Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. For him, creating territorial continuity between Gaza and Sinai could have been the fulfillment of a dream. In Israel it is perceived as a nightmare. A large Hamas state, open crossings and a tunnel industry, with the military wings of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah running wild along the Sinai border.
The big question is whether al-Sisi really promised to hand over Sinai lands (that's unlikely) and if Abbas really rejected the plan out of hand. In any event, if there was any chance, even the slightest, the fresh leak killed the initiative. Al-Sisi will not concede territories, a demilitarized Palestinian state will not be established in Sinai, and the refugees will not return.
This solution was basically aimed at getting rid of the Hamas leadership. But just like they are stuck with the Gaza siege, Israel and Egypt are stuck with the military wings and missile launchers. The hands are working, the eyes are open, no one is resting.
An economic solution is the only thing that will calm Gaza down. In the moderate camp of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Abbas as well, no one has to suddenly fall in love with Gaza. Let them live in dignity, explain to them the economic potential they have and make sure that the funds and investments reach the right hands only.
