April 27, 2024 (EIRNS)—Egypt is building new cities on the Egyptian side of its border with Gaza. This is part of Egypt’s policy of developing the economy of the Sinai Peninsula. This region, which lies between the Suez Canal and Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip and Israel, had for decades been a hotbed of terrorism and criminal smuggling operations from Egypt into both Gaza and Israel, trafficking weapons, drugs and other contraband. These networks overlapped with the terrorists linked to the Islamic State who were carrying out attacks against Egypt.
When Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi came to power in 2014, he moved rapidly to pacify the area through security operations and large-scale economic development, including building new cities, economic zones, universities, health centers, reclamation, desalination plants, and fisheries. The Egypt rail network already crosses the Suez Canal and runs along the north coast of the Sinai right up the the Gaza border, waiting for peace to break out between Israel and Palestine. The region that lies alongside the east bank of the Suez Canal benefits from the massive development that is now being carried out in the canal zone.
