US will not restrict any military funding to Egypt

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — The US State Department will not restrict any military funding to Egypt, including funds conditioned on human rights, a State Department spokesperson told CNN Wednesday.

The agency informed Congress Wednesday that it intends to provide Cairo with $1.3 billion in foreign military financing assistance, the spokesperson said.

Egypt has been accused of sweeping human rights violations under President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, but Cairo has been a key negotiator in the discussions about Gaza – a fact the spokesperson referenced in explaining the administration’s decision to fully provide the funding.

“This decision is important to advancing regional peace and Egypt’s specific and ongoing contributions to U.S. national security priorities, particularly to finalize a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, bring the hostages home, surge humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in need, and help bring an enduring end to the Israel-Hamas conflict. This decision also reflects Egypt’s crucial role in promoting a ceasefire in Sudan, and its instrumental efforts to get humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people,” they said.

$225 million of that foreign military funding requires Egypt to meet broad human rights conditions. $95 million is contingent on the determination that Cairo “is making clear and consistent progress in releasing political prisoners, providing detainees with due process, and preventing the harassment and intimidation of American citizens.”

The vast majority of the funding – $980 million – does not have conditions.

Last year, the agency withheld $85 million that had been conditioned on Cairo’s progress in its treatment of political prisoners, instead diverting that money to Taiwan and Lebanon, sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

This year, Blinken “determined and reported to Congress that Egypt has fulfilled these conditions and making clear and consistent progress in these areas, and he’s directed the Department to obligate this funding,” the spokesperson said.

The State Department spokesperson argued the determination acknowledges “steps the Egyptians have already taken: advancing draft legislation to reform pre-trial detention and the broader penal code for adoption by parliament, releasing more than 950 political prisoners since September 2023, and to end travel bans and asset freezes associated with foreign funding for NGOs.”

“We’ve reiterated with partners in Egypt that more action is needed and expected to build on this trajectory to further strengthen our relationship,” the spokesperson said.

Still, the determination comes despite the State Department’s most recent human rights report – covering the year 2023 – which found that “there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Egypt during the year.”

The report noted “reports of significant numbers of political prisoners and detainees,” adding that “humanitarian groups were not permitted access to political prisoners or detention centers.”

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