In a vastly unexpected political move, the Egyptian government released one of its most prominent political dissidents from prison on Feb. 18, 2009. Ayman Nour, a former presidential candidate and member of the Egyptian Parliament, had been imprisoned for nearly four years on charges of forging signatures on petitions filed to create his political party, Al Gahd. Nour and Al Gahd garnered some 600,000 votes in the 2005 presidential election, the first time President Hosni Mubarak's nearly quarter-century rule found itself credibly challenged. Many viewed the jailing of Nour as an act of political repression in retaliation for his attempts to promote democratic reform in Egypt. The U.S. and the rest of the international community condemned his imprisonment; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice postponed a state trip to Egypt to protest his incarceration, and former President George W. Bush mentioned him in a speech in 2007.

The real reasons behind Egypt's sudden decision to free Nour are unclear. The official government statement is that Nour, along with eight others, was liberated for “medical reasons.” The government's position has been viewed with much suspicion as Nour had been petitioning unsuccessfully for his release due to poor health for the past three years. Nour's very first words upon being precipitously released were, “It is a surprise! There was no prior plan for it and there were no negotiations over anything.” Some analysts speculate that the Egyptian government chose to let Nour go as a goodwill gesture to the Obama Administration and as a rebuke to the previous Bush Administration. Echoing this stance, Salama Ahmed Salama, the editor of the Egyptian independent newspaper Shorouq, wrote, “All the pretexts for his release today are unacceptable, and no one can believe it.” Instead, he editorialized that it could only be seen “in the framework of improving relations with the U.S.”

While Nour's release has been widely welcomed, much criticism remains over the rationalization for the government's pardon. Alaa Aswani, an Egyptian journalist critical of his government, commented on Nour's sudden freedom: “I am happy he is out, but I am sad that the executive power and the president can interfere directly in judicial outcomes…. The president can put someone in jail and can pardon him and then look for a legal pretext.” Following his liberation, Nour told the media, “I did not come out of prison to have my revenge. I came out to pursue what I was jailed for and this is the most serious revenge.”

Israel's offensive on Gaza, beginning on Dec. 27, 2008, and ending on Jan. 18, 2009, caused significant uproar and protests in the Middle East, including in Egypt. Those in support of Gaza subsequently criticized Mubarak for failing to act, most notably by his refusal to open the Egyptian-Gaza border to refugees and aid during the attacks. However, both the U.S and Israel have called upon Egypt to improve its border security, including shutting down the tunnels and any other form of illicit entry.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, Egypt has served as one of the key mediators, both between the two Palestinian factions as well as to Israel. On Feb. 26, 2009, Egypt hosted reconciliation talks between the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, and its rival, the nationalist party, Fatah, the first time the two sides have sat down since the June 2007 takeover of Gaza by Hamas. As the first step towards uniting the Palestinian factions, both sides have agreed to set up committees to further explore the prospects of a unity government and new elections. At the international aid conference for Gaza, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on March 2, 2008, world leaders pledged $4.4 billion toward reconstruction efforts.

As part of the fallout among Middle Eastern states over the Gaza conflict, Egypt claimed responsibility for the failure of Qatar's attempts to organize a formal Arab summit on Gaza that was to occur in January 2009. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit stated that “Egypt made the summit fail…. This summit, if it had taken place as an Arab summit with a proper quorum, would have damaged joint Arab action.” Aboul Gheit claimed that Iran, Hamas and the Lebanese Shi‘a group Hezbollah jointly worked to provoke conflict in the Middle East by fighting over Gaza. He asserted that Iran was attempting to use the confrontation over Gaza as a way to escape Western pressure over its nuclear activities. Diplomats report that Egypt also boycotted the informal consultative meeting that was held because it resents Qatar's attempt to act as an Arab mediator—a role historically held by Egypt. In addition, diplomatic analysts suggest that Egypt is uncomfortable with the growing influence of the satellite television channel Al Jazeera, which is based in the Qatari city of Doha. Aboul Gheit countered this position, saying, “Some people imagined that a satellite channel could bring down the Egyptian state, without realizing that Egypt is much stronger than that.” He reiterated the fact that Egypt is “very big and has extensive influence.”