The U.S. announced $1.3 billion in military aid for Egypt yesterday despite previous restrictions based on human rights concerns.
Cairo is accused of holding political prisoners and $320 million, or roughly one-quarter, of the aid was meant to be conditional on alleviating those concerns.
Human rights groups say Egypt has released nearly 1,000 prisoners this year but has made 2,000 new arrests in that time. Despite this, Secretary of State Antony Blinken eased the restrictions while citing national security interests.
A spokesperson pointed to Cairo’s prominent role in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, which have so far been unsuccessful.
Sen. Chris Murphy (Ct.), a leading Democrat over Middle East policies, criticized the decision to waive the requirement. He said there’s no reason to ignore that Egypt remains a “deeply repressive autocratic state.”