Egypt Warns Against Liquidating Palestinian Cause, Asserts Displacement as 'Red Line'

Egypt renewed its categorical rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians, stating that this is "a red line," which it will not allow to be crossed.

Egypt's Commander-in-Chief and Minister of Defense Mohamed Zaki warned on Monday that the current escalations in the Gaza Strip aim at "imposing a reality that leads to the liquidating of the Palestinian cause."

Speaking at the Egypt Defense Expo (EDEX 2023) in Cairo, Zaki said peace eventually must have a "power to protect it."

Earlier, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi affirmed his country's rejection of the "forced displacement" of Gazans, stressing that Egypt will not allow the issue to be settled at the expense of neighboring countries.

Last Saturday, Sisi met with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Dubai on the sidelines of the UN Climate Conference (COP28). Egypt and the US categorically rejected the coerced displacement of the Palestinians, the forced transfer from Gaza or the West Bank, and the siege imposed on Gaza.

On Monday, Sisi witnessed the inauguration of EDEX 2023 for defense and military industries and inspected several pavilions in the exhibition.

Minister Zaki said the exhibition is an important global event under the patronage of the President, coinciding with the current conflicts and wars that threaten regional and international security and stability.

Egypt continues to aim to unite efforts and end conflicts seeking to establish peace, said Zaki, noting that the exhibition is a place for exchanged experiences to enhance capabilities and develop relations between countries in defense and military industries.

He also asserted that it aims to protect the pillars of common national security and deepen the partnership and cooperation with friendly countries in all military fields.

The Minister also stressed that the armed forces will remain a guardian of the nation's security and stability, seeking to defeat any aggression against Egypt.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and its EU and NATO representative, Badr Abdel-Aty, confirmed that Egypt categorically rejects the forced displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip inside or outside its territory, asserting it was a red line that will not be crossed.

Abdel-Aty told the "Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons" that Egypt adopted a comprehensive approach to dealing with migrants that includes security, development, economic, and social aspects to address the root causes.

The conference is organized by the European Commission to enhance international cooperation in combating migrant smuggling.

The ambassador said his country hosts about nine million refugees, who enjoy essential services like Egyptian citizens.

Egypt has been receiving hundreds of thousands of Sudanese since the outbreak of the recent crisis.

Last month, Egypt criticized Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who supported a call by two Knesset members, Danny Danon (Likud) and Ram Ben-Barak (Yesh Atid), who wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial that Western countries should accept Gazan families who expressed a desire to relocate.

Smotrich said it was a voluntary migration plan for the refugees of Gaza.

"I welcome the initiative of the voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs to countries around the world," Smotrich said in a statement.

"This is the right humanitarian solution for the residents of Gaza and the entire region after 75 years of refugees, poverty, and danger."

He said an area as small as the Gaza Strip without natural resources could not survive alone and added: "The State of Israel will no longer be able to accept the existence of an independent entity in Gaza."

Last Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed that the policy of forced displacement remains a goal for Israel "as it seeks to drive Palestinians from their land by making life in the Gaza Strip impossible."

Shoukry was speaking at the Joint Press Encounter by the Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit as part of a periodic briefing session held by the UNSC on the situation in the Gaza Strip.

The Minister stated that what is happening in the Gaza Strip met with a similar policy in the West Bank that forcibly displaces its residents, whether through unleashing settler violence or demolition operations, evictions, and military incursions into West Bank cities.

He noted that the recent developments were in addition to the annexation of land through systematic settlement operations that cemented the illegitimate occupation.

Furthermore, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides will visit Egypt and Jordan on Tuesday as part of an initiative to establish a humanitarian aid corridor to Israeli-besieged Gaza, reported Reuters.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.

Egypt Warns Against Liquidating Palestinian Cause, Asserts Displacement as 'Red Line'