A document raises Egyptian fears.. What is Israel's relationship to the Suez Canal?

Cairo -

Perhaps there is no Egypt more sensitive than the Suez Canal and everything related to it in terms of news, so it was natural for the channel’s news to capture the attention of Egyptians during the past days, after the communication sites were buzzing with a fabricated document claiming to lease the important shipping lane to an Israeli company, which forced the commission To deny in an official statement.

The sensitivity of the Egyptians towards the Suez Canal is not only because the canal was dug by the hands of the Egyptians and their blood was poured into it before the waters of the Red and Mediterranean Bahrain met in it, and not only because it represents an important symbol of the independence of the national decision after its nationalization in 1956 and the subsequent tripartite aggression (Britain, France and Israel), but rather Because it is also one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, and one of the most important sources of foreign currency in the country, especially with the intensification of the economic crisis in the country, and the government's adoption of the privatization policy as one of the means of searching for dollar resources that meet the country's growing needs and obligations in hard currency.

In light of this mixture of reasons, social media was abuzz with a document claiming that the Suez Canal Authority had contracted with a foreign (Israeli) company to manage its services with a 99-year concession contract, but the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, denied the matter altogether and described it as rumours.

# The Suez Canal denies the validity of the publications circulating about contracting with a company to manage its services# suezcanal# Suez_Channel_Life_Sharyan pic.twitter.com/VWPPUrUQnN

Suez Canal Authority (@SuezAuthorityEG) February 3, 2023

formal denial

Lieutenant General Rabie stressed, in a statement published by the Suez Canal Authority on its social media pages on Friday, the absolute Egyptian sovereignty, in both its political and economic aspects, in managing, operating and maintaining the navigational facility of the Suez Canal.

The statement stressed that the authority cannot in any way prejudice Egyptian sovereignty over the canal and all its constitutionally preserved facilities, and that it is committed to announcing all its contracts in various forms, including contracts or memorandums of understanding, etc., while disclosing the terms of the contracts and their importance.

Article 43 of the Egyptian constitution states: "The state is committed to protecting, developing and preserving the Suez Canal as an international waterway owned by it, and is also committed to developing the canal sector as a distinguished economic center."

The authority’s statement came after the future of the Suez Canal became the talk of the Egyptian street, following the widespread circulation of the aforementioned contract on social media, and sparked a wide division between a believer and a liar.

Some clowns brought paper with naive seals (including a notary from Abu $30!) with the signature of Sisi (as manager) renting the Suez Canal to an Israeli company!

Of course, nonsense, but what a rush, likes, and feeling of presence!

The shocking thing is that they all claim that they have a doctorate!!

- Dr.

Tharwat Nafei (@snafei) February 3, 2023

In a surprise of a heavy caliber, and in response to what I published about the Suez Canal concession contract, signed by the Egyptian government and sealed with a secret seal, ending an Israeli company for 99 years, Eddie Cohen, an Israeli media expert, confirms the validity of the contract and publishes excerpts from the contract and a summary explanation of it!!!

pic.twitter.com/unwKOO3MFc

— Dr.Sam Youssef Ph.D.,M.Sc.,DPT.

(@drhossamsamy65) February 2, 2023

Controversial new fund for the Suez Canal

The alleged contract emerged weeks after the Egyptian parliament approved, on December 19, a draft law submitted by the government, to establish a fund owned by the Suez Canal Authority that would allow the establishment of companies to buy, sell, lease and exploit the fund’s assets, which raised the fears of some Egyptians and their enemy in neglecting the Suez Canal. While the government confirmed that the fund aims to benefit only from the development and development of the canal’s resources.

The project provides for the establishment of a “Suez Canal Authority Fund” that will have an independent legal personality and enable it to buy, sell, rent, rent, exploit and benefit from fixed and movable assets, to enhance the authority’s ability to confront crises and emergencies that occur as a result of any exceptional circumstances, force majeure or bad economic conditions. .

Amid widespread controversy, the "Civil Democratic Movement", which includes liberal, Nasserite and leftist opposition parties, rejected the draft law and launched what it called the "Popular Campaign to Defend the Suez Canal" under the name of nothing but the Suez Canal, and the Suez Canal is a red line.

The movement called for the withdrawal of the draft, and for it to be issued only after its approval, article by article, and then its ratification and publication in the Official Gazette.

However, the most prominent statement came from Lieutenant General Mohab Mameesh, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Ports, and the former head of the Suez Canal Authority, where he told local newspapers that the new law is impossible to implement, indicating that it opens the door to a precedent that did not happen for many years, which is the presence of foreigners in the management of the Suez Canal. They may change the system that has been based on it for many years and achieve record returns and profits.

Mameesh - the former commander of the naval forces - stressed that any change in the regime or the entry of foreign investors will cause panic among citizens, "especially with the emotional attachment of the Suez Canal to the Egyptians who split it the first time with their blood, sweat and effort, and the second time with their money under the auspices and planning of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi." He affirmed that he would never accept any negligence of a single drop of water or the Suez Canal in general, especially because he is a loyal president to his country and his people.

On the other hand, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Counselor Hanafi Jabali, defended the draft law, describing the fears of some regarding the law, fueled by the allegations and fallacies issued by people of scientific, cultural, literary and even legal status, as misplaced.

Gebali denied, in a statement, that “the draft law included any provisions affecting the Suez Canal, because it is one of the state’s public funds, and it is not permissible to dispose of or sell it, but rather that the state is obligated, according to Article (43) of the constitution, to protect and develop it, And preserving it as an international waterway owned by it, and is committed to the development of the canal sector, as a distinct economic center.

A recently approved legal amendment regarding operations in the Suez Canal shows the problems rooted in the capitalist model of the Egyptian system.

@MagedMandour discusses: https://t.co/t2QVCroLIR

- Sada / Sada (@SadaJournal) February 2, 2023

An investment not rent or sell

In this context, the former member of the Transport Committee in the Egyptian Parliament, Mohamed Farag, criticized what is being raised about the Suez Canal, because it is part of the Egyptian state and not just one of its assets, which must be preserved and protected and not neglected under any name.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Faraj stressed that the conversation should focus on how to improve the exploitation of the Suez Canal to achieve the greatest return on investments, similar to countries such as Singapore that own the largest ship repair yards in the world, and not to talk about leasing them or selling their assets or the like, which Some say it intentionally or unintentionally.

The Egyptian parliamentarian stressed the need to pay attention to developing the services of ships crossing the canal through the establishment of repair, maintenance and services docks in the cities of Suez and Port Said at both ends of the canal to maximize the revenues of the Suez Canal, and the establishment of logistical centers for the exchange and transportation of goods, in addition to the establishment of free zones based on the needs of the Asian and African markets, and the establishment of Investment areas to feed them with the required goods, whether through their manufacture or transportation.

And last month, the communication sites witnessed widespread controversy after the Egyptian economist, Hani Tawfik, proposed issuing bonds for the Suez Canal and offering them on the international stock exchanges at an interest rate of 8% over a period of 50 years, by guaranteeing the canal’s revenues, to collect about $ 60 billion to help Egypt pay off the debts owed to it.

Record numbers for the Suez Canal

Navigation statistics in the Suez Canal during the month of January revealed the highest monthly revenue in its history, amounting to $802 million, according to Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority.

During the same month, the navigation traffic in the canal witnessed the passage of 2155 ships from both directions, an increase of 21.5%, and the total net tonnage amounted to 123.5 million tons, an increase of 16.3%.

Admiral Rabie expected that the revenues of the Suez Canal would reach $8 billion in the current fiscal year 2022/2023, compared to about $7 billion during the fiscal year 2021-2022.