Egypt Concerned by US Plan to Displace Palestinians to Neighboring Countries

Palestinians flee from Gaza City to the south at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Strip. (AFP)
Palestinians flee from Gaza City to the south at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Strip. (AFP)
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Egypt Concerned by US Plan to Displace Palestinians to Neighboring Countries

Palestinians flee from Gaza City to the south at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Strip. (AFP)
Palestinians flee from Gaza City to the south at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Strip. (AFP)

Cairo fears that Israel is continuing its efforts to displace the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, pushing them by various means towards Egyptian territory and other nearby countries.

Israel Hayom newspaper published this week a report saying Israel submitted a new initiative to the US Congress calling for conditioning American aid to Arab countries on their willingness to receive refugees from Gaza.

The Israeli proposal, which reportedly has support from senior officials in Republican and Democratic parties, calls on the US to condition foreign aid to Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and Türkiye for accepting a certain number of refugees.

It said those countries will accept “voluntary, not forced” migration of Palestinians to their territories.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has already categorically rejected a forced resettlement of Palestinians in his country.

He has expressed his country’s “rejection and denouncement of policies of displacement or attempts to eradicate the Palestinian cause at the expense of neighboring countries.”

Earlier this week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said forced displacement remains a goal for Israel, “as it seeks to drive Palestinians from their land by making life in the Gaza Strip impossible.”

In the early stages of the war on Gaza, the US administration announced it would oppose the forced displacement of Gaza residents from the enclave.

On Friday, Israel Hayom said the Israeli proposal was shown to key figures in the House and Senate from both parties. It said Rep. Joe Wilson has expressed open support for it and described the proposal as “the only moral solution to ensure that Egypt opens its borders and allows for the refugees to flee from the control of Hamas and Israel.”

Wilson said the US Government provides Egypt with approximately $1.3 billion in foreign aid, and these funds can be allocated to the refugees from Gaza who will be allowed into Egypt.

He noted that Egypt should not shoulder the entire burden, but other regional countries should chip in.

“Iraq and Yemen receive an approximate $1 billion in US foreign aid, and Türkiye receives more than $150 million,” he said, adding that each of these countries receive enough foreign aid and have a large enough population to be able to accept refugees adding up to less than 1% of their population.

Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy described the proposal as a “political hallucination,” noting that Israelis have for years adopted a strategy aimed at decreasing the Palestinian populations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Fahmy told Asharq Al-Awsat that even if Washington adopted such a proposal, Egypt firmly rejects any measures to eradicate the Palestinian cause, including the forced displacement of Gazans.

Last month, Cairo publicly condemned Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who said the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians is the “right humanitarian solution” for Gaza.

Smotrich was commenting on an op-ed piece written by Danny Danon and Ram Ben-Barak published for the Wall Street Journal last month, calling for “countries around the world to accept limited numbers of Gazan families who have expressed a desire to relocate.”

On Friday, Rakha Ahmed Hassan, a member of Egypt's foreign affairs committee, who served as the country's ambassador to Germany, described the new proposal referred to by Israel Hayom as “unrealistic.”

Hassan told Asharq Al-Awsat that the displacement of Palestinians could not be compared to hosting of Syrian refugees by Egypt and other countries. “The Syrian crisis is temporary and the displaced Syrians will return home.”

However, he said, sending Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries means the complete eradication of the Palestinian cause and the end of “any hopes to establish an independent state.”



Cautious Calm Returns to Libya’s Gharyan After Armed Clashes

GNU Chief of Staff General Mohamed Haddad meets with the Libyan mayors. (Chief of Staff)
GNU Chief of Staff General Mohamed Haddad meets with the Libyan mayors. (Chief of Staff)
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Cautious Calm Returns to Libya’s Gharyan After Armed Clashes

GNU Chief of Staff General Mohamed Haddad meets with the Libyan mayors. (Chief of Staff)
GNU Chief of Staff General Mohamed Haddad meets with the Libyan mayors. (Chief of Staff)

A temporary calm has settled over the city of Gharyan in northwestern Libya following armed clashes involving medium-caliber weapons between two factions aligned with Tripoli authorities.

Violent clashes erupted in the city of Gharyan, south of Tripoli, between a militia loyal to Ghnewa al-Kakli, commander of the Stability Support Apparatus that is affiliated with the Presidential Council, and the 444 Combat Brigade, which is part of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The fighting was triggered by the arrest of eight members of the 444 Combat Brigade from Gharyan by the 555 Brigade, a force under al-Kakli's command. The 444 Combat Brigade is led by Mahmoud Hamza, the head of military intelligence in western Libya.

The clashes have ceased for now, but tension remains high as armed militias continue to vie for control and expand their influence on the ground.

In an update on security matters, GNU Chief of Staff General Mohamed Haddad, met with mayors from Zuwara, Nalut, Jadu, Yefren, and Al-Qalaa, along with several officers and military personnel, to discuss security issues in these areas.

Haddad assured the mayors that the military supports the legitimate demands of the people in these regions and is committed to helping stabilize them and all of Libya.

In a separate development, the UN mission in Libya stated that its head, Hanna Tetteh, accompanied by Deputy Special Representative and Resident Coordinator Aeneas Chuma, met with a group of African ambassadors in Tripoli on Wednesday as part of their initial round of consultations with the diplomatic corps.

The mission’s statement explained that the meeting, hosted by the Ghanaian Ambassador in Tripoli, focused on the work of the mission and provided an update on the Advisory Committee's activities.

It also reviewed regional challenges influenced by the developments in Libya.

The consultations emphasized enhancing coordination between the United Nations and the African Union to strengthen cooperation on shared issues, including regional security, migration, and supporting national reconciliation in Libya.