Egypt has ‘no hidden agendas,’ ambitions against anyone: President

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday that Egypt has “no hidden agendas” or ambitions against anyone, responding to remarks by an Israeli official about the Sinai Peninsula in northeastern Egypt, according to a statement by the presidency, Anadolu reports.

Sisi made the remarks during the armed forces’ 44th educational symposium, titled, “Homeland of Heroes,” marking the 53rd anniversary of the October 1973 war.

Responding to the Israeli remarks, Sisi said Egypt had “fought a war to defend its land and recovered all its territory.”

He questioned whether some circles in Israel harbored “unjustified perceptions or fears about Egyptian ambitions against them.”

“Egypt’s first and foremost goal is to preserve its security and stability and safeguard its people’s resources,” he said, stressing that “the Egyptian state has no hidden agendas.”

He said Egypt’s main priority was to protect its borders and national security within a framework of peace and stability.

The peace treaty between Egypt and Israel “provides the governing framework for relations between the two sides,” said Sisi, adding that Egypt has “no ambitions against anyone.”

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The statement did not identify the Israeli official or detail the remarks about Sinai.

But Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a video interview on Oct. 5, on the eve of Egypt’s anniversary commemorations, that “What would make Egypt not attack us? The understanding that if they attack us, there will be no Sinai at least.”

Egypt’s official MENA news agency subsequently quoted an informed source as saying Cairo “categorically rejects” invoking Sinai in the Israeli minister’s remarks.

The source described the threats as “empty” and aimed at serving electoral purposes.

Turning to the Palestinian issue, Sisi said Egypt’s support for a two-state solution stemmed from a consistent vision and conviction that it offered a realistic path toward a just and lasting regional peace.

He said Egypt’s vision sought the establishment of “a respected Palestinian state and a respected Israeli state,” stressing that it was a longstanding position aimed at securing stability for generations to come.

Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington in March 1979 following the 1978 Camp David Accords. The treaty ended the state of war between the two countries and provided for Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai.

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