Cairo Holds Addis Ababa Responsible for Failure of GERD Talks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated on Sunday in the joint consultative meeting with GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated on Sunday in the joint consultative meeting with GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Cairo Holds Addis Ababa Responsible for Failure of GERD Talks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated on Sunday in the joint consultative meeting with GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated on Sunday in the joint consultative meeting with GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

The dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) returned Sunday to the frontline after Cairo held Addis Ababa responsible for the failure of the latest round of talks to reach an agreement on the operation of the dam.

Cairo’s position was backed by Gulf countries, which refused any action that infringes upon the rights of Egypt and Sudan in the Nile waters.

An Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said Minister Sameh Shoukry briefed on Sunday his counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on developments regarding GERD.

This came during Shoukry’s participation in the joint consultative meeting with GCC foreign ministers in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Foreign Ministry Official Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry spoke with GCC countries on Ethiopia’s s uncompromising approach that disregards principles of good neighborliness, leading Egypt to suspend its participation in the negotiations.

Last December, Egypt announced the failure of a round of negotiations on GERD. The talks - held between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia - were previously launched within the framework of the three countries’ agreement to accelerate the completion of the agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam within four months.

At the time, Egypt’s Ministry of Irrigation said in a statement that the meeting held in Addis Ababa “did not yield any results due to Ethiopia's persistent refusal to accept any of the technical or legal compromise solutions that would safeguard the interests of all three countries.”

GERD has been under construction since 2011 on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile water.

During Sunday’s meeting in Riyadh, Secretary-General of the GCC Jassim Al-Bedaiwi affirmed that the water security of Egypt and Sudan is an integral part of Arab national security, expressing the Gulf countries' rejection of any action that infringes upon the rights of both countries in the Nile waters.

Dr. Amani El Taweel, director of the African Program at the Center for Al-Ahram Political and Strategic Studies, says the GCC support for Egypt will have a significant impact on the GERD negotiations.

She told Asharq Al-Awsat that the GCC rejection of any action that infringes upon the rights of Egypt in the Nile waters is a political message with implications on the Ethiopian administration.

She noted that Gulf countries have a political influence on Addis Ababa where they have large investments.



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.