Reports

Why does al-Sisi support the deal of the century? $9 billion is the answer

The approval of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime of the deal of the century has raised many
questions, especially given the speed at which the approval was released – on the same day.
The Egyptian approval came in contradiction to the Egyptian position, which is always aligned with the
Palestinians, and came despite previous assurances that the most important thing is the Palestinian
position, and that Egypt will support the Palestinians in whatever choice they make.
This quick approval of the deal of the century raised many questions over the historic shift in the
Egyptian position, which opposed the position of all Palestinian factions on a final settlement related to
the Palestinian issue. Some questioned whether Egypt had previously seen the terms and details of the
deal.
Two years ago, Egypt’s delegate to the United Nations voted against the US President Donald Trump’s
decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, and Egypt then stressed the need to adhere to UN
resolutions, including the two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
The deal of the century states that undivided Jerusalem is considered the capital of Israel, just as it
completely blew up the idea of return to the June 1967 borders.
According to documents released by the White House, the economic aspect of Donald Trump’s peace
plan between Palestine and Israel includes granting $9 billion to Egypt, half of which is in the form of
soft loans.
The documents revealed that $50 billion will be dedicated to the economic part of the deal of the
century, which will be invested in the revival of the Palestinian territories, as well as Lebanon, Jordan
and Egypt.
The funds will be received by Egypt during three stages over 10 years, and will be invested across a
number of fields.
Al-Sisi’s regime expects to receive $5 billion to be invested in modernising transport infrastructure and
logistics in Egypt, in addition to $1.5 billion to be invested in supporting Egypt’s efforts to become a
regional natural gas hub.
Also, $2 billion will be dedicated to the Sinai Development Project ($500 million for power generation
projects, water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, and tourism projects), and $125 million to be
directed to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which will direct this fund to small and
medium-sized enterprises in Egypt.
The Egyptian regime is also waiting for $42 million to repair and modernise electricity transmission
lines from Egypt to the Gaza Strip.
There is also a promise to discuss ways to enhance trade deals between Egypt, Israel, the Gaza Strip and
the West Bank through Qualifying Industrial Zones in Egypt within the QIZ Agreement.
According to the documents, the West Bank and Gaza Strip will receive about $28 billion, which will be
invested in improving transport infrastructure, electricity networks, water supply infrastructure,
education, housing, and agriculture.
The totality of funds will be raised through an investment fund managed by a Multilateral Development
Bank.
These big funds raise a logical question, where will the money come from?
According to the documents, this amount will be divided into $13.4 billion as grants, $25.7 billion as
subsidised loans, and private capital in those projects will be $11.6 billion.
However, there are serious doubts as to whether this amount can be collected or not.

Reuters mentioned in a report that “there are deep doubts about the willingness of potential donor
governments to make contributions at any time as long as the thorny political differences that are at the
heart of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict have not been resolved.”
Until now, all Palestinian parties have rejected the deal of the century, and there is no sign that they may
accept it, which makes “political differences” far from being resolved.
Experts confirm that “most foreign investors will prefer to stay away not only because of security
concerns and fears of corruption, but also because of the obstacles the Palestinian economy is facing due
to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which hampers the movement of people, goods, and
services.”
The Egyptian regime is suffering a catastrophic economic failure and sees $9 billion as a lifeline. The US
administration understood this and detailed it in the Deal of the Century.
This $9 billion explains a historical shift in the Egyptian position, but the problem is that it is an
unsecured deal which threatens to make this historical shift be for free.