UAE’s Egypt investment avoids peace at any cost
Egypt’s recent financial troubles with its national debt approaching its GDP created the perfect opportunity for resolution of the entire Palestinian conflict. Nations could have pressured Egyptian President El-Sisi to allow Palestinian refugees through the Rafah border per Egypt’s obligations under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) per my other articles, to cooperate for release of Israeli hostages, and even build a beautiful, large, prosperous Palestinian state in the Sinai. Everyone would be happy.
But no, we are not that smart.
Of all the missed opportunities in the current Gaza conflict, few are as expensive as the UAE’s and Abu-Dabi-based ADQ investment company’s $35 billion dollar land investment in Egypt’s failing economy. Instead of the wise nations of the world cooperating to use that $35 billion to invest in the Sinai and develop Egypt’s mediterranean coast there sufficient to house an entire Palestinian state and resolve the entire conflict, the funds appear intended to accomplish the precise opposite. They appear to be intended to bail Egypt out of its financial problems, by developing Egypt’s other, western mediterranean coast, its Ras El-Hekma project west of Alexandria. Of course, that amount invested in a Palestinian state there would profit many times the return. But no. The funds appear to be a bailout of Egypt, intentionally so Egypt is not pressured to help Israel do anything that might alleviate the conflict. BP’s $1.5 Billion dollar investment in Egypt will help along similar lines after Egypt’s recently lower oil production.
If the estimate of $18 billion total international aid given to the Palestinians since 1948 is correct, this is just about double that amount. While the investment is enough to build an entire Palestinian state on the Mediterranean coast designed with modern, world-class homes, resorts, and infrastructure, instead the investment is apparently designed instead to avoid peace at any cost. As close to a peaceful resolution as the world could get while still mocking it, the missed opportunity is like running a 26-mile marathon only to run head-first on purpose into the pole at the finish line.
If aliens exist, they are looking down at us shaking their heads.