Email from Zionist Organization of America   ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA NEWS RELEASE Yair Lapid’s Dangerous Plan for Egypt Controlling Gaza, Followed by “Pay-to-Slay” Palestinian Authority Controlling Gaza, is Lunacy Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Director of Research and Special Projects Liz Berney, Esq. released the following statement: Israeli opposition leader and former temporary Prime Minister Yair Lapid has just floated an absurd, extremely dangerous proposal – that Egypt should control Gaza for eight years, with an option to continue controlling Gaza for another seven years, followed by turning over control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (which continues to incite and pay terrorists to murder Jews, despite rebranding its "pay-to-slay" payments as "economic empowerment" payments). In addition, Lapid would reward Egypt with massive debt forgiveness. Simply put, Lapid’s plan is a recipe for disaster. Lapid’s proposal would empower Gazan terror groups (whom Egypt will not disarm even if an agreement requires Egypt to do so); and would reward Egypt’s serious violations of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty – including Egypt’s massive illegal buildup of arms and military infrastructure in the Sinai, targeting Israel. Under Lapid’s plan, Egypt could openly arm Gazan terror groups; instead of merely allowing massive amounts of arms to be smuggled through the dozens of huge tunnels on the Gaza-Egyptian border. Further, Egypt is not a “reliable ally,” as Lapid claimed while introducing his plan yesterday. Former Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi believed that the Israel-Egypt treaty must be “re-examined.” While serving as Egypt’s president (2012-2013), Morsi implied that Egypt was not obligated to keep the Israel-Egypt peace treaty. Lapid contradicted his own “reliable ally” claim by admitting that the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups unfriendly to Israel could rise to power in Egypt. Moreover, Egypt’s illegal arms buildup in Sinai, and its decades-long tacit permission for smuggling arms to Hamas, are not actions of a “reliable ally.” There is already deep concern that Egypt’s Sinai military buildup means that Egypt is preparing to open an “eighth front” in the Arab Islamist war against Israel. It would be sheer lunacy to give Egypt an additional beachhead in Gaza for attacking Israel. Lapid also seems to be forgetting that Israel has the right to Gaza, under binding international law, including the Mandate, which included Gaza in the territory designated for the Jewish people. The most peaceful periods were when Israel controlled Gaza. After the Palestinian Authority took control over parts of Gaza under the Jericho agreement, Palestinian Arab rockets started falling on Israel. Lapid also needs to be reminded about what occurred after Egypt invaded Israel/Gaza in 1948, and then illegally seized and controlled Gaza. In violation of the 1949 Egyptian-Israeli Armistice Agreement, Egypt incited its fedayeen (terrorists) to repeatedly attack Israel from Gaza. From 1949 to 1956, there were approximately 70,000 infiltrations from Gaza into Israel, in which the fedayeen murdered 317 Jews. Lapid’s ideas also lost all credibility when Lapid abused his brief stint as temporary prime minister in 2022 to enrich Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon by illegally surrendering 330 square miles of Israeli maritime waters and gas fields, without the required Knesset vote or public referendum. (See “Surrendering Israel’s Maritime Waters/Gas Fields, Under Biden’s Pressure, is Illegal and Gives Terrorist Hezbollah Billions,” ZOA, Oct. 12, 2022.) Israel surely does not need another nonsensical dangerous Lapid proposal that weakens Israel, when Israel already faces so many enemies bent on Israel’s destruction.   VIEW ON OUR WEBSITE   Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email VOTE FOR THE ZOA COALITION (SLATE #15) IN THE 2025 WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS ELECTIONS! Voting Period: March 10, 2025 - May 4, 2025 Learn More   DONATE     Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2025, All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave 31 B | New York, NY 10017 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice