IDF Lt. Col. Eli Dekel, Retired, discusses whether Egypt’s military build-up poses a threat to Israel.

Dekel served in the Intelligence branch of the IDF for 20 years, specializing in geographical intelligence, which researches military and civilian infrastructure systems and analyzes the significance of concurrent infrastructure development in terms of the state of the nation. In the following discussion Dekel paints a general picture of the Egyptian military, surveying its military’s buildup and infrastructure development since 2007, focusing especially on the rise to power of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2013. Dekel analyzes, inter alia, the following infrastructure systems: accelerated development of bridges and tunnels in the Suez Canal area; the construction of a highway network in Sinai; significant expansion of the logistical framework in Sinai; the establishment of emergency fuel reserves, primarily in the Suez Canal area; expansion of military airports and ports and tunnels excavated for storing strategic weapon systems along the Suez Canal.

An analysis of the military build-up and the development of the infrastructure systems in the Sinai and the Canal front, leads Dekel to the conclusion that the Egyptian Army’s focus is on preparing a theatre of war against Israel in Sinai. By contrast, the Egyptian Army is barely engaged in preparation for potential threats from such actors as Libya, Ethiopia. Turkey and Iran.

In his seminar Dekel explains the reasons underlying Egypt’s preparations for military conflict with Israel, and discusses the capabilities it has developed following the spate of military materiel procurements and the development of military infrastructure systems.