Egypt: Opposition Parties Coordinate Demands to Achieve Political Reform

The meeting of representatives of Egyptian parties in Cairo on Saturday, May 14, 2022.  (Conservative Party)
The meeting of representatives of Egyptian parties in Cairo on Saturday, May 14, 2022. (Conservative Party)
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Egypt: Opposition Parties Coordinate Demands to Achieve Political Reform

The meeting of representatives of Egyptian parties in Cairo on Saturday, May 14, 2022.  (Conservative Party)
The meeting of representatives of Egyptian parties in Cairo on Saturday, May 14, 2022. (Conservative Party)

Opposition parties in Egypt have begun coordinating to announce a unified position on their demands for “political reform.”

Last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tasked the Youth National Conference, which operates under the umbrella of the Egyptian presidency’s National Training Academy (NTA), with coordinating with all political parties, movements and youth groups to hold political dialogue.

He said the aim of the talks is to discuss the “priorities of national work at this current time.”

The NTA sent last week invitations to representatives of all the political parties to attend the dialogue and opened the registration on the website of the National Youth Conference for those who wish to participate.

The heads of 12 Egyptian parties, public figures and former parliamentarians held a meeting in Cairo on Saturday at the headquarters of the Conservative Party to declare a unified position on the call for dialogue and matters to be discussed.

Head of the Conservative Party Eng. Akmal Kortam said the participating civil society parties sought to determine concepts and demands rather than laying conditions.

Meanwhile, Head of the Reform and Development Party Mohamed Anwar Sadat reiterated his demand for the Senate to sponsor the dialogue instead of the NTA.

Sadat said the dialogue should cover political, social and economic issues and should be held under Sisi’s personal presence and supervision.

Head of the Karama Party Ahmed Tantawi, for his part, said all what is required is a dialogue that allows all participants to express themselves freely in a way that serves Egyptian people.

The list of parties that will be attending includes the Conservative party, the Egyptian Social Democratic party, the Reform and Development party, the Constitution party, the Karama party, the Egyptian Socialist party, the Socialist Popular Alliance part, and the Arab Democratic Nasserist Party, as well as a number of public and political figures.

Farid Zahran of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party said all parties want to hold the dialogue in an atmosphere that can help it be a success, suggesting the release of all prisoners against whom there's no evidence of involvement in violence or terrorist acts.



Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
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Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a "grave mistake" that he said would benefit the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel's military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his "next steps" but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition, Reuters reported.

Smotrich's comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.

"... the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas," Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as "logistical support for the enemy during wartime".

The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.

The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to UN estimates.

Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.

PRESSURE

Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.

The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.