Egypt Intensifies Opposition to Efforts to Displace Palestinians

Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way as they return to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way as they return to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Egypt Intensifies Opposition to Efforts to Displace Palestinians

Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way as they return to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way as they return to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 29, 2025. (Reuters)

Egypt reiterated its rejection of any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, as a senior official denied reports of a call between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump on the issue.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s parliament launched a plan to engage with global legislatures to reaffirm Cairo’s unwavering stance on the Palestinian cause, as political parties and unions called for protests.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reaffirmed Cairo’s longstanding position on the Palestinian issue on Tuesday, emphasizing its rejection of any forced displacement.

Speaking at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Abdelatty underscored Egypt’s opposition to all efforts to relocate or uproot populations, whether temporarily or permanently, warning that such actions threaten stability and undermine prospects for peace.

His remarks came as Egypt’s Al-Qahera News quoted a senior official denying reports of a phone call between Sisi and Trump.

“The necessary accuracy should have been observed, especially regarding such high-level communication at this sensitive time in the Middle East,” the unnamed official said, adding that any presidential calls are officially announced in line with protocol.

The clarification follows US media reports citing Trump as saying he had spoken with Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah about his proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.

While Trump claimed in an interview on Monday that he had “talked to Sisi” about the idea, he did not mention the Egyptian president’s response, saying only: “I wish [Sisi] would take some. We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us. He’s a friend of mine. He’s in ... a rough neighborhood. But I think he would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it too.”

On Saturday evening, Trump proposed relocating Gaza’s residents to Egypt and Jordan, a suggestion that was swiftly rejected by Cairo, Amman and the Arab League.



Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.  

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on March 4 in response to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and permanently move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, and then redevelop the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".  

Speaking in Madrid ahead of the gathering, Sisi called for the "international community's support and adoption of a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the Palestinian people -- I repeat, without displacing the Palestinian people -- from their land, which they cling to, and their homeland, which they do not agree to relinquish".

Sanchez, one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the European Union, agreed, saying "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of the future Palestinian state".

"Their expulsion would not only be immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations resolutions, but would also have a destabilizing effect," the Socialist premier added.  

The two leaders also signed a declaration upgrading Egypt-Spain relations to a "strategic partnership", as well as several memorandums of understanding in various fields including illegal migration and defense.  

Trump's plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.