Chapter three
-The Israeli and foreign intervention in the Nile basin countries affairs
The features and characteristic of the Israeli appearance in Nile basin countries
The gradual resumption of diplomatic relations between Israel and Africa during the 1980s was a function, primarily, of the growing African disappointment with the Arab world and deteriorating conditions on the continent. Two carefully prepared meetings in the mid- 1970s between then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal and Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d’Ivoire signaled some movement. The signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979, which removed the ostensible reason for the rupture of relations in 1973, provided added impetus. But little progress was achieved until the early 1980s, when David Kimche was appointed director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, together with Avi Primor (then head of the Africa Desk), embarked on a campaign to achieve a diplomatic rapprochement.
A series of visits by Israeli leaders to various African states, notably by then Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, set the stage for the new Israeli effort. Private businessmen who had established themselves in various Nile basin capitals (Leon Tamman in Kinshasa, adis ababa ) were pressed into service. Military contacts were increased and contracts negotiated.
While economic and defense ties continued apace, movement on the diplomatic front, however, proved to be exceedingly slow. In May 1982, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, anxious to capitalize on Israel’s relations with Washington, became the first African head of state to announce the restoration of relations with Israel. By the early 1990s only three Nile basin states, Guinea, Ethiopia, and Kenya—resumed relations.
During the course of the 1980s, as Israeli interests in the Far East expanded dramatically, relations with Nile basin countries continued to develop extremely slowly along these dualistic, and palpably utilitarian, lines. Israeli entrepreneurs were visible everywhere; some became informal advisers to heads of state in Nairobi, , Addis Ababa, and Kinshasa. Senior officers turned businessmen were involved in operations on different sides of conflicts in Rwanda and Zaire. Inevitably leading to immense confusion not easily dispelled by official protestations.
By the late 1980s, nevertheless, the Israeli presence on the continent had expanded once again, Trade relations, although still infinitesimal, grew; cultural contacts blossomed with the commencement of religious pilgrimages to Israel; academic exchanges increased; tourism flourished. A new equilibrium, admittedly devoid of the passion that had characterized the early years, was forged.
The last fifteen years have been marked by the complete diplomatic return of Israel to Africa. It has also been characterized by growing official Israeli indifference to the deteriorating situation on the continent, only somewhat mitigated by the emergence of Israeli and Jewish NGOs concerned with the ongoing African predicament. Despite massive changes in Israeli priorities and African circumstances, no comprehensive strategic review has been carried out, rendering the Israeli-African relationship as privatized and haphazard today as in recent decades.
The diplomatic turnabout of recent years was facilitated by two main factors. First and foremost, the Oslo Accords and the peace treaty with Jordan removed the last political barriers that had prevented a diplomatic rapprochement in the past. Second, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the United States as the sole superpower magnified the potential significance of the normalization of links with Israel in African and Nile basin countries eyes. Israel established embassies in some of the Nile basin states (Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo)
Indeed, the selective character of Israel’s diplomatic ties in Africa mirrors shifting interests in recent years, rather than any conscious policy reassessment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refrained from taking the lead in shaping the new era in Israeli-African relations. Most professional diplomats do not see their future in the African arena. The turnover of personnel, with several notable exceptions, has been rapid. The quality of those charged with managing African affairs has, sadly, deteriorated, while even the best-intentioned have found that their bargaining power within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as their access to resources has been severely constricted.
While the technical cooperation program of MASHAV[1] is still hailed as a key instrument of Israel’s Africa outreach, dwindling portions of its already minute budget are allocated to the continent. The Israeli aid program has become dependent on foreign financing and, at least to some extent, on private business interests. Stopgap measures have too often replaced ongoing programs. In the course of the past decade, numerous delegations of parliamentarians and academics have been dispatched to a variety of African states to compensate for the absence of a continuous presence on the ground. Diplomats in Washington and at the UN have become surrogates for permanent representatives in African capitals. Nongovernmental organizations and individuals ranging from Magen David Adom and La’tet to the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish World Service, and spontaneous groups formed to deal with various calamities, such as the floods and the drought in the Nile basin region.
The Israeli role in the conflict between Egypt and the Nile basin countries
With the outbreak of the crisis between Egypt and the Nile Basin countries, and the outbreak of the differences on the allocation of Nile water to Egypt and Sudan, and the emergence of the hidden role of Israel behind incite the Nile Basin countries of Africa "Ethiopia - Kenya - Uganda Rwanda" to violate the International Convention on the Nile Basin countries. The Nile basin crisis exposed the Zionist ambitions of expansion within the African continent, especially in the countries of the Horn of Africa and Nile Basin countries, which are considered strategic for the Zionist expansion in the continent.
Israel's interest that the Nile River, which represents the lifeblood of Egypt, gave the Jewish state's tactical and strategic advantage during the previous wars with Egypt. In the war of attrition, for example, Israel has hit the dams of Nag Hammadi and Esna, power lines, the link between Aswan and Cairo, which prompted Egypt to change its plans and forcing it to send troops to protect the higher dam against any Israeli attack, which led to reduce the pressure and attacks of the Egyptian in the cannel line. Zionist plan on Egypt, which comes within the scheme and the broader strategy, includes all Nile Basin countries, pointing out that the successive waves of drought suffered by the Nile Basin, in addition to high population growth in Egypt, led to the inability of Egypt to provide self-sufficiency of food. And therefore relied on other countries to provide food for its population. This made Egypt associated with foreign countries and especially the United States, which is the largest producer of food in the world.
The famous Israeli writer"Arnon Chauffeur" said that as a result of the Egyptians dependence on the United States, whenever it is in Israel's interests because U.S.A ensures the stability of the peace agreement signed between the Cairo and Tel Aviv.
According to the Decree of the real Zionist plan, the water crisis in Egypt will led to carry out economic reforms and to rationalize water consumption. That may become a reason for the great cooperation between Egypt and Israel, because Israel possesses extensive experience in both areas and Egypt can benefit from it in this matter.
Also Israel has an interest of a water crisis in Egypt, because that will push Egypt to engage in conflicts in this regard with its neighbors in the region of the Nile Basin, which will reduce its intervention in the affairs and issues of the Arab world. This is exactly what Israel wants. However, Israel does not hide its concern that any water crisis may be exposed to Egypt from the growing strength of extremist elements who oppose the peace agreement with Israel.
Israel has tried to use Ethiopia as a pressure on Egypt by Touch the Egyptian quota in the Nile waters and the threat of building dams in the hand of Ethiopian control the volume of water reaching to Egypt, especially that 80% of the water reaching to Egyptian territories have their origin in the Ethiopian highlands. Israel is also seeking to develop plans to draw water from the Nile to its territory from the nearest point in African countries that will threat irrigation and electricity, agriculture along the Nile Valley and Delta of Egypt.
from another side D.R Alia el Mahdy confirm that according to the Israel's interest, Israel want to stop control of Arab States on the Red Sea .. So Israel is trying to impose its control and its influence on the not Arab countries bordering on the Caspian Sea and offer all the help they need. Especially the states of Eritrea and Ethiopia. which at the same time advantage to Israel because they are also Nile Basin countries, so Israel is interested in increasing the share of Ethiopia in the Nile water, because it means from the Israeli point of view re-division of shares of the basin countries in the Nile water fairly.
Ethiopia that play a vital role in the rebellion revolution against Egypt figured from Israel with particular interest in Israel's strategic around the African continent because of the following reasons:
Zionist claims based on myths and claim that the relationship with Ethiopia due to the third century BC and claimed that the Son of Prophet Solomon (Menelik) of his wife, Queen of Sheba is the founder of Abyssinia which was called (Mcda) and national Amhara, which belonged to emperors Ahbash and most recently (Haile Selassie) is a descendant of Prophet Solomon.
Richness of Ethiopia's natural resources where they are in their territory many of the rivers (such as Abay, Tkaza, Parad, Amodu, Aoacho, Oceli) in addition to the lake (Tana) Great pose an enormous financial reserves of the Nile River , Ethiopia’s richest mineral resources industries that serve the Israeli military, including special, in addition to metals, diamonds, gold and silver.
The advantage of Ethiopia is strategically located geographic and demographic and political, they are having an impact on neighboring countries, especially Eritrea and the rest of the basin, in the case of Israeli control of influence in Ethiopia, the Egyptian national security is at a constant threat.
Israeli imports doubled from Ethiopia more than thirty times during the nineties, from 0.4 to 13.9 million dollars annually, while Israeli exports have doubled in only three times from 1.9 to 5.8 million dollars annually. In the same context, according to media sources, the Zionist Israeli companies specializing in the field of engineering consultancy and construction recently submitted bids for the Ethiopian Government with proposals to contribute to housing investment projects on the Nile, and the encouragement of the Israeli Foreign Ministry[2]. The volume of economic cooperation Israeli with Ethiopia, a remarkable development, with an export value of Ethiopian to Israel for the years 1993 - 1998 rate increase and reached 230% and that exports coffee, leather, school bags, shoes, vegetables, fruits, meat, live animals, cotton, timber, gold, cobalt, black oil, sugar, cereals, and also the Ethiopian Society of Commerce and the Ethiopian Export Agency and the Ethiopian embassy in Israel play a vital roles in facilitating economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Israeli exports to Ethiopia have increased during 2003 to reach the rate of 500% in addition to increased military cooperation, which revealed the Information Bulletin of the British military in June 1998 that Israel maintains intelligence links closely with Ethiopia, and the Israeli Mossad runs a large cadre of collecting information and intelligence in the capital Addis Ababa, in addition to his activities in the Island (Dahlak) Eritrea and southern Sudan and the rest of the basin.
On the other hand relations between Nairobi and Tel Aviv's rapid development in all fields of economic, agricultural, security .according to the data of Israeli Foreign Ministry the Israeli imports from Kenya have doubled twice and a half times in the last three years from 8.6 to 20.9 million dollars annually, while exports have increased Israeli Almost twice the $ 14 million to $ 29.3 million. Israel has established strong ties with the State of Kenya, because of the headwaters of the Nile there, as well as with Uganda that located close to the Lake Victoria and Awan dam. DR.Emad Awad confirmed that during the sixties and seventies Egypt afraid of Israel that may close the dam (Awan) and therefore the flow of Nile water to Egypt will stop, so Cairo send a team of experts and Egyptian specialists to Uganda till now to ensure the flow of the White Nile on a regular basis.
Also Uganda and Israel signed an agreement in March 2000, during the visit of a delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, headed by the Director of Irrigation in the Ministry, Moshe without Gulen, contain the implementation of irrigation projects in ten provinces affected by drought, and send Ugandan groups to Israel to complete the study of the projects, which is located mostly in the districts of northern Uganda, near the Ugandan border with Sudan, Kenya, and use of water flowing from Lake Victoria to the establishment of these projects, which leads to lack of water received by the White Nile, as well as Israel announced it was interested in the establishment of irrigation projects in the province of Karamoja in Uganda , near the Sudan, where they can irrigate more than 247 thousand hectares of land of Uganda through the use of two and a half billion cubic meters annually, while water that currently used does not exceed 207 million cubic meters only to irrigate 32 thousand hectares of land, not only the seriousness of existence Israel in the countries of the Nile to the use of experts and technical cooperation in the projects, but it extend to the economic and agricultural cooperation by Israeli capital , aims to own land in the region by the pretext of establishing projects, or improve its territory, or the establishment of dams.
Overall, the goal of Israel's presence in Africa is the desire to get on the Nile water, and pressure on the Egyptian decision-maker, because of the sensitivity and gravity of the sheet of water in the Egyptian strategy, through the adoption of Tel Aviv to play no direct role in water conflict between the Nile Basin countries, take advantage of its considerable influence in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, taking advantage of U.S. support clear to her for joint control over the African continent, which affects the basis for the national security of Egypt , which makes it important to take swift action to curb this Israeli intervention , before it becomes a real threat, threatening of all, and may index the recent crisis with the Nile Basin countries for the good proof of that.
[1] MASHAV - Israel's Agency
for International Development Cooperation is responsible for Israel's
international cooperation and assistance around the world, through the
provision of guidance and training in Israel and abroad. The assistance is
provided in a wide variety of areas, including agriculture, medicine,
education, the advancement of the status of women, community and family.
[2]Patric,
terry, Israel and Africa Washington post ,USA ,2007
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