Egypt Daily News – Days after Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon questioned why Egypt was arming its military despite the absence of threats, Egypt’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations, Osama Abdel Khalek responded with a statement revealing the reasons.
“Egypt is a big country and needs a strong army,” he said, explaining that ”strong and big countries need armies capable of defending their national security.”
“It is no secret that deterrence and the balance of power around the world guarantee peace and stability, and the Middle East is no exception,” Abdel Khalek said in an interview with Al-Qahera Al-Ikhbariya TV, stressing that Egypt was the first to lay the foundations of peace in the region and is committed to the cause of peace as a strategic choice.
Israel has expressed concern about the development of the Egyptian army and its acquisition of modern weapons and military equipment, which raises the question of the reasons for this Israeli tension over the ongoing armament process that is taking place in Egypt.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told Israel’s Kol Parma radio last Sunday: “They (Egypt) invest hundreds of millions of dollars in modern equipment every year, and they don’t have any threats on their borders.”
Danon continued: “Why do they need all these submarines and tanks? After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, this should be a cause for concern.”
During the war on Gaza, the Egyptian army deployed tanks near the Rafah border crossing, in response to the Israeli army’s occupation if the Philadelphi corridor.
