This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has renewed his threats against Cairo, questioning President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s assurances that the country has no territorial ambitions and does not seek war with Israel, and warning that it could lose the Sinai Peninsula.
Smotrich said he is not reassured by Sisi’s statements, adding that Israel would ensure Cairo does not attack it if it understood, in his words, that “the next time they attack, there will be no Sinai”.
The remarks follow an earlier controversy over Smotrich’s comments about the peninsula. In a video interview, he said Egypt would lose Sinai if it attacked Israel.
Cairo rejected the Israeli minister’s remarks, describing them as “empty threats” and affirming its ability to protect its territory and independence.
Sisi responded to the Israeli statements during the 44th Armed Forces cultural seminar, held last week to mark the 53rd anniversary of the October War victories.
“Who told you we want to fight? We have no agenda against anyone. We have our land. We fought for it, regained it, and that was the end of it,” he said.
The president stressed that his country had fought to defend its territory and had regained all its land, adding that its priorities are protecting national security and stability and safeguarding the interests of its people. He also said the peace treaty with Israel remains the framework governing relations between the two countries.
In his speech, Sisi presented the two-state solution as a path towards long-term stability through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, with the rights of both sides respected.
Smotrich also addressed the Gaza Strip, saying its residents had been taught to hate Israel and calling for their hope to be “cut off”.
READ: Egypt unveils new laser system to intercept drones in Sinai
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Iran’s president says US must lift sanctions, end threats before negotiations
- Iran says supertanker carrying over 2 million barrels of oil hit mine near Hormuz
- UN warns about ‘deteriorating’ situation in Yemen’s Taiz as road closures block vital supplies
- Israeli attacks kill 6 Palestinians, including 2 children, in Gaza despite ceasefire
- Israel’s Ben-Gvir boasts of Gaza’s destruction, mocks Palestinian residents in AI-generated video
- Israeli army chief excluded from secret Netanyahu-Hegseth meeting: Report
- Israeli tanks spotted near former governor’s office in Quneitra, southern Syria
- Rights group urges US to arrest Israeli commander linked to Hind Rajab’s killing
- French prosecutors seek suspended prison sentence, ban on office for MEP Rima Hassan
- German activists block arms factories over weapons exports to Israel
- Saudi Arabia launches 2026-27 archaeology season in AlUla, Khaybar
- UK to deploy Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia for defensive missions
- More than 250,000 displaced in Yemen since August as fighting escalates: UNHCR
- FIFA suspends Egypt coach Hossam Hassan for 3 matches after criticizing World Cup refereeing
- US envoy says ground intervention in Yemen ‘appears pointless,’ urges regional alliances
- Israel uses occupier violence to ‘ethnically cleanse’ Palestinians from West Bank: Amnesty
- Olive theft is just one component of Israel’s colonial structure
- The unravelling alliance – when Israel’s interests clash with America’s
- Italian engineering firm withdraws from Jerusalem cable car project amid continued opposition
- Netanyahu says Ben-Gvir will hold prominent ministerial position in next government
- Saudi Arabia postpones future investment initiative until 2027 following Houthi attacks
- Egyptian archaeology center urges protection of Louvre antiquities amid Paris protests
- Israeli Medical Association warns of rising doctors emigration amid healthcare concerns
- Libya’s Grand Mufti accuses US and Israel of backing Saddam Haftar for leadership
- Israel designates 45 acres of land in Bethlehem, Hebron as ‘state land’
- Yemen: Houthis Prosecute UN, Civil Society Staff
- Egypt: Authorities Arrest Entire Investigative Newsroom
- Erdogan warns Israel against attempts to stir chaos in Syria
- 2 Palestinians killed in Israeli attack near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City
- Funeral ceremony for Palestinian couple killed during Israeli attack in Gaza City
- Smotrich renews threats against Egypt, saying ‘there will be no Sinai’
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threaten to target key internet cables
- UNRWA head warns of looming Gaza winter crisis, urges Europe to pressure Israel
- Saudi Arabia postpones ‘Davos in the Desert’ forum amid Houthi attacks
- Egyptians do not trust General El-Sisi’s promises
- Araghchi: Europe paying price for miscalculations, just like US
- Pakistan providing Saudi Arabia ‘whatever support needed’ amid Houthi attacks: Army spokesman
- How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza
- Egypt postpones until next week vote on military support for Saudi Arabia
- Israel violating US-mediated framework agreement, Lebanese president says
- Iran says 20 to 30 aircraft destroyed during war with US, Israel
- UK threatens sanctions against firms linked to Israel’s illegal settlements in West Bank
- Israel’s Ben-Gvir uses fines against mosques in election campaigning
- UN food agency cuts Gaza assistance by one-third amid funding shortages
- Trump can strike Iran again. He cannot bomb Hormuz open
- When diplomacy arrived in Jakarta and justice did not
- From TAPI to CASA-1000: How can Afghanistan benefit from energy corridors?
- Resisting Erasure: Libraries in Palestine and Palestine in Libraries
- The very stable genius, nine years later
- Trump, Epstein, and the Netanyahu endorsement: The strange standards of Western shame
