A leaked document written by Gila Gamaliel, the Israeli intelligence minister, came to light in late October amid the devastating war in Gaza.

It set out a proposal to relocate the residents of Gaza to Sinai (Egypt) as a solution “which will produce positive long-term strategic results”. But how could Egypt accept such a solution when most of its population appears to be pro-Palestinian?

The answer can be found in the world of macroeconomics: debt.

After being revealed by the Israeli newspaper Calcalist and WikiLeaks, the proposal is getting attention in the Israeli and Egyptian critical press. Tel Aviv appears to be in talks with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about Egypt taking in Gazans and settling them in Sinai, in exchange for the cancellation of all its debts to the World Bank.

This could mean the Israeli government would take on the debts Egypt owes to multilateral creditors (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund etc.) or that (with the support of the United States) it would convince allied Western countries to write off Egyptian debts to national institutions

Hope Egypt doesnt fall for this

  • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    9 months ago

    if any institution or syndicate offers to clear your debts for a favor, it's because the favor is gonna cost you far more than any imaginary lines on some ledger. and they probably expect the circumstances to unfold in a way that sends you right back into their debt.

  • oregoncom [he/him]
    ·
    9 months ago

    Even if they succeed they will have simoly created another Hezbollah in the South.

    • OgdenTO [he/him]
      ·
      9 months ago

      Exactly. Does anyone really think that genociding a group and pushing them off of their generational land will somehow reduce their hatred and mollify their radicalism?

  • GaveUp [love/loves]
    ·
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    What's the point of cancelling debt if accepting all these refugees will crash your economy regardless

    • mathemachristian [he/him]
      ·
      9 months ago

      Presumably because Egypt would still get the labor power of the refugees and not have to cede economic assets to its debtors.

      • GaveUp [love/loves]
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        There would have to be an investment period on any ROI

        Egypt's economy is already in the gutter and I'm not sure if forgiving debt would fix it especially under Sisi

        Egypt's problems don't lie with the population size or lack of physical labor

  • fruityloop [they/them]
    ·
    9 months ago

    hopefully elsisi likes having his head attached to his neck more than the cancellation of debts.