'An Arab NATO': Egypt's proposal ahead of emergency summit in Qatar

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported on Saturday morning that Egypt is trying to rally Arab states around the idea of a joint Arab force, modeled after NATO, which would be capable of acting to defend any Arab country under attack.

The Egyptian move comes ahead of the Arab-Islamic emergency summit set to begin on Sunday in Doha. This is in the context of the Israeli strike in Qatar and reports that diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt are at their lowest level since the beginning of the war, with security coordination between the two sides reportedly suspended "until further notice."

A senior Egyptian official familiar with the details said that Cairo "is placing significant hope on gaining support for a practical implementation path" for the proposal, which was first raised nine years ago. According to the official, there are still practical obstacles facing the initiative, most notably the timing of intervention by the force and its operational mechanism.

According to the report, Egypt is working through its military branches to formulate proposals for the operational mechanism of the force, which would allow its deployment when needed. The force would be composed in proportion to the population sizes and military capacities of different Arab states, while maintaining regional and political balance in its structure. Egypt seeks to command the force, placing Saudi Arabia or one of the Gulf states in the deputy role.

The report further stated that Egypt is proposing to send 20,000 troops from its army to the joint Arab force and hopes to benefit from the move in terms of military development and equipping its army with the most advanced weaponry.

The newspaper also noted that the diplomats involved in shaping the framework of this force are aligned in their belief that its creation must not be seen as a declaration of war on Israel, as some Arab states might use that as a pretext to initiate direct military confrontation with Israel.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, responded to the Lebanese report by calling on Islamic countries to establish a joint operations room against "the madness of the Zionist entity."

On the other hand, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Egypt’s proposal for forming a joint Arab force in response to Israeli strikes, stating,

"This is a severe blow to the peace agreements, coming right after a significant blow to the Abraham Accords, and after the overwhelming majority of countries that were once Israeli allies voted for the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Lapid further blamed the Israeli government:

"They have destroyed our international standing. A deadly combination of irresponsibility, amateurism, and arrogance is tearing us apart globally. We must replace them before it’s too late."