News Analysis: Egypt's fruitful mediation in Mideast issues enhances Cairo's regional role: experts

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 06:11:59|Editor: Song Lifang
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by Mahmoud Fouly, Abdel-Maguid Kamal

CAIRO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's fruitful mediation in some hot issues in the Middle East region, including the recent inter-Palestinian reconciliation, cease-fire deals in Syria and factional dialogues in Libya, has enhanced Cairo's leading role in the turmoil-stricken region, said Egyptian political experts.

Cairo has proved effectiveness and influence in gathering conflicting parties together either for inner reconciliation as in the Palestinian case, cease-fire agreements as in the Syrian crisis, or settlement talks as in the Libyan issue.

PALESTINIAN REUNION

Cairo hosted last week the signing of a reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas to end their long-time rift and enable a unity government to take over and have full control of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian consensus government has already started restructuring its ministries and departments in Gaza as part of the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal.

"Signing the deal under Egyptian sponsorship signifies that Egypt is in more control than other regional powers over this issue," said Mohamed Gomaa, researcher at the Arab and Regional Unit of Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Relations between Egypt and Hamas have been tense since the Egyptian military ousted former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a Hamas ally, in 2013, and outlawed his Muslim Brotherhood group. Ties gradually improved after Hamas showed security cooperation with Egypt and disengaged itself from the brotherhood.

Still, Egypt is not in good terms with Turkey and Qatar, as both hosted fleeing members of the currently blacklisted brotherhood group following Morsi's ouster.

There is positive progress signifying that Fatah and Hamas seem more earnest to achieve reconciliation. It is in the end in favor of Egypt's national security and its anti-terror war in the restive North Sinai province when Gaza is controlled by a unity government that is not in constant confrontation with Israel.

"Relatively, the reunion deal reflects Egypt's success until now in limiting the influence of Qatar and Turkey on Hamas movement," Gomaa told Xinhua, adding that it also shows Egypt's restoration of its sponsorship of the inter-Palestinian reconciliation in a better shape.

Egypt's mediation between Palestinian factions is closely linked with the desire of the United States, whose ties with Egypt improved under the U.S. president Donald Trump after a rift at the time of Obama administration, to revive the stalemated Middle East peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

"This aspect also enhances Egypt's role in the region as it involves a kind of coordination between Cairo and Washington despite their different visions on the core of the settlement process," Gomaa pointed out.

SYRIAN CEASE-FIRE

On the very same day the inter-Palestinian reconciliation deal was signed in Cairo last week, Oct. 12, Egypt hosted a cease-fire agreement signed by three rebel factions holding a small pocket of a territory in southern Damascus, capital of war-torn Syria, with a guarantee from Russia.

Earlier in August, Egypt and Russia also brokered an agreement to create a "de-escalation zone" and a cease-fire between the Syrian government forces and armed rebels in the northern Homs countryside in Syria. Cairo successfully brokered an earlier deal to de-escalate conflict in Eastern Ghouta region in Damascus.

The forces of the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad are backed by Russia, Iran and Shiite militias.

"Taking part in brokering several cease-fire deals in Syria asserts that Cairo is assuming its place in the arrangement of Arab issues," said Tarek Fahmy, a political science professor at Cairo University.

"Cairo, thus, is restoring its role in Arab open issues as a result of the good performance of the Egyptian diplomacy whether regionally or internationally," the professor told Xinhua.

While Saudi Arabia as a regional key player seeks removal of Assad, Egypt sees that a political settlement in Syria is the best option to end the six-year conflict that claimed the lives of about half a million people and displaced and wounded over 14 million.

"There are rising players in the region like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in addition to Qatar as well, but Cairo still has the upper hand in regional leadership. Egypt still coordinates and cooperates with Saudi Arabia and the UAE as significant regional players with successful development and political progress," Fahmy said.

The professor expects further growth of Egypt's regional influence as a result of its growing credibility due to addressing issues in a peaceful approach without interfering in other countries' domestic affairs or engaging in regional conflicts.

"Egypt has credibility in keeping the same distance with all parties and powers without bias," said the professor.

LIBYAN DIALOGUE

Libya has been engaged in a civil war since the 2011 ouster and death of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, which eventually divided the country into two governments, a UN-backed one in Tripoli and a parliament-backed, military-oriented one in Tobruk.

Supported by self-proclaimed Libyan national army led by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, the government in Tobruk refuses to recognize the Tripoli-based unity government led by Fayez al-Serraj.

Bordering eastern Libya, Egypt is concerned that the war-torn country could be a new incubator for affiliate militants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, particularly after the IS decline in Syria and Iraq, posing a direct threat to the Egyptian national security and that of the Arab world in general.

"Egypt is mediating dialogue between different Libyan factions and it is not only in direct contact with the internationally recognized parliament but also with some leading forces in the cities of Tripoli and Misrata," said Mohamed Megahed al-Zayyat, adviser to the Cairo-based Regional Center for Strategic Studies.

"This shows that Egypt has started to adopt a clear regional policy and that the aspects of the Egyptian regional role has started to crystallize after years of absence," he added.

The UAE managed in May to host a rare meeting between Haftar and Serraj, the two key rival figures in the country, which shows growing contribution of influential Gulf states in the region. France also managed in July to rarely bring face to face Haftar and Serraj for settlement talks.

The Egyptian leadership of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi supports the self-proclaimed Libyan national army led by Haftar and the parliament-backed government in Tobruk.

"The region is influenced by several powers like Turkey, Iran and Israel whose roles expand when Egypt's role declines and relatively decline when Egypt's role expands with the support of Arab states, particularly Gulf ones like Saudi Arabia and the UAE," the researcher told Xinhua.

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