Haisam Hassanein was an Associate Fellow at The Washington Institute. Previously, he was the Institute's 2016-2017 Glazer Fellow, in which he focused on economic relations between Israel and Arab states. He has published in several media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs
Articles & Testimony
U.S. officials should take a four-pronged approach to lowering the barriers that have long impeded true normalization between the two countries.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi is at the White House on Monday with the high hopes of receiving strong support from U.S. President Donald Trump. One of the major issues that the Egyptian President will surely stress to attain this favor is the sustainment of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty. While the Egypt-Israel peace treaty is significant, and Egypt deserves credit for honoring it, signing a treaty was unthinkable nearly 40 years ago when the two countries became peace partners, and there was deep mistrust regarding intentions between the two sides. Coupled with the existing hostile relations between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbors, striking the peace deal with Israel put Egypt in a bad light. With the changes the region has endured in the past six years, relations between Israel and Egypt, as well as with many Arab other states, seem headed toward a more positive direction...