When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on television to announce his government had approved the country’s largest export agreement, he cast it as a triumph of pragmatism and peace.
Under the deal – worth up to $35 billion and stretching to 2040 – gas from Israel’s Leviathan field will be piped to Egypt, to help to “secure stability in our region”, Mr Netanyahu said.
To his government, it was a victory narrative: Israel as an energy power, the US as a reliable ally and Egypt as proof that coexistence and co-operation with the Israelis brings prosperity. Yet within hours, that same narrative became Cairo’s problem to manage.
Across Egyptian media and social platforms, the announcement drew a wave of discomfort and sharp rebuke.
The Gaza war, which killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, has left Egypt’s public acutely sensitive to any sign of warmth towards Israel, whose assault on Gaza has been described as genocidal by UN experts and at the International Court of Justice.
For Egyptians who see themselves as guardians of the Palestinian cause, hearing Mr Netanyahu speak of regional stability while bombs continued to fall across the border, despite a ceasefire, was jarring.
Egypt’s State Information Service moved quickly.
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