Egypt-Israel: How The Camp David "Betrayal" Of Palestine Looms Larger Than Ever

-Analysis-

CAIRO — In Cairo’s bustling markets, daily life thrums with activity — vendors shouting, children darting through narrow alleys, the smells of street food blending into the hot air.

But beneath this familiar rhythm, there’s an unspoken tension that has simmered for as long as most can remember — since 1979 to be precise, when Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, a move many saw as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause, placing regional stability above longstanding solidarity with Palestine.

The visceral support for the Palestinian cause can be seen if not heard in the downtown Cairo market. Posters of Jerusalem adorn shop walls, stickers of the Palestinian flag cling to the windows of taxis, and graffiti scrawled on public buildings quietly honors Palestinian martyrs. These are the subtle, silent expressions of solidarity, because for Egyptians, support for Palestine can’t go beyond this. They know the risks. Too much noise, too much public outrage, can lead to imprisonment. The Egyptian regime keeps a tight lid on public sentiment, a strategy honed since the Camp David Accords.

Since October 7th, 2023, when the conflict between Israel and Hamas reignited in brutal force, Egypt has been walking a delicate line. The streets of Cairo have been filled with quiet anger and sorrow, but not mass protests. The government’s response in the initial weeks of the war was carefully measured — solidarity with the Palestinian people, but no direct condemnation of Israel. It’s a familiar balancing act, one where the regime ensures its strategic interests, rooted in the Camp David Accords, remain intact, while cautiously acknowledging the strong public support for the Palestinian cause.

Fracture point

In 1977, when President Anwar Sadat made his historic visit to Jerusalem, it sent shockwaves through the Arab world. Just two years later, the Camp David Accords made Egypt the first Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.

While Sadat received the Nobel Peace Prize, it came at a steep cost domestically and regionally. Egypt was suspended from the Arab League, and its people felt the sting of betrayal from their Arab neighbors. The struggle for a Palestinian state, long seen as a symbol of Arab unity and resistance, became a fracture point. For many Egyptians, the peace treaty felt like a betrayal of that cause — a sentiment that has never fully dissipated.

For much of the Arab world, it’s capitulation.

In the decades that followed, the Egyptian government continued to manage the delicate task of maintaining peace with Israel while placating its people’s deep-seated loyalty to Palestine. But this divide between the state and public sentiment became a defining feature of Egyptian identity. While the government advanced economic and security interests through its ties with Israel, public support for Palestine remained steadfast, even as it was relegated to whispers, posters, and subtle expressions.

Diplomacy in flux

Like with Jordan which followed suit in 1994 with its own peace accord with Israel, Egypt’s actions are justified by security concerns and economic benefits. Yet, for much of the Arab world, it’s capitulation. The Palestinian issue, central to Arab identity, fractured Egypt and Jordan’s relationships with their Arab neighbors and created an internal rift between governments and their people.

The war in Gaza and the massive toll on Palestinian civilians has multiplied the stakes on all sides. Facing the urgency of the humanitarian crisis just across the border in Rafah, Egypt’s government made it very clear that it would not absorb a new wave of Palestinian refugees, although the country is hosting 50,000 to 120,000 Palestinian refugees. This stance is not just a response to the present crisis but echoes a longstanding policy.

Since 1948, when Palestinian refugees first began arriving in Egypt, the government has been cautious about their presence, fearing the potential political and social consequences. Jordan, where up to 3 million of its population are of Palestinian origins, faces a similar dynamic and geographic proximity with the West Bank.

Still, the diplomacy of the region was already in flux before Oct. 7, most notably with the Abraham Accords in 2020, which saw countries like the UAE and Bahrain normalize relations with Israel. Suddenly, Egypt and Jordan were no longer outliers.

Unity or fragmentation?

However, the Abraham Accords have also presented new challenges. For Egypt, economic ties with Israel have grown, but relations with other Arab countries, such as Algeria and Qatar — who remain staunchly opposed to normalization — have become strained. As more countries engage diplomatically with Israel, the question of whether political pragmatism will continue to outweigh Arab unity looms large. Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest and most influential power, was rumored to be on the cusp of following suit, but the war in Gaza has again forced Riyadh to consider the Palestinian cause that its own population tends to care more about than the regime.

The violence of the past year has reignited a crisis that has long felt like an unresolved wound.

The urgency of the moment lies not just in the shifting alliances. The overwhelming violence of the past year has reignited a crisis that has long felt like an unresolved wound in the Arab world. Egypt, still a leader in the region, finds itself at the center of this tension once again. The peace treaties with Israel, initially driven by strategic and security concerns, are now being tested against a new reality where public support for Palestine is stronger than ever, but the government’s ability to act is constrained by the legacy of Camp David.

Meanwhile back in Cairo’s downtown market, Palestine's national flags cling to windows and walls, alongside fading posters of Jerusalem. Here, where bargaining is an art form, the cause of a homeland for the Palestinian people remains the eternal non-negotiable that Egyptians can barely mention out loud.