Cairo has voiced strong opposition to Israel’s view to effect a so-called “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza, warning it would maybe perhaps also plot off a mass exodus in direction of Egypt’s border and extra destabilize the role.
In a phone call final week with the US Heart East Envoy Steven Witkoff, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty firmly rejected the proposal.
Israel reportedly plans to effect up a gated camp, dubbed the “humanitarian city”, to host an initial 600,000 Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza. Once inside, the Gazans will be prohibited from returning to their properties indefinitely, according to the Israeli proposal.
Cairo’s political stance on this echoes frequent Egyptian public sentiment.
“The Arab position is unified, and Egypt’s position has been consistent from the beginning of the Palestinian issue. Our opinion is consistent, and the opinion of the Egyptian people is consistent, and the political leadership in Egypt is consistent: there is no displacement, no playing around with the Palestinian issue, no evacuating the land, and no displacement in any way, shape or form,” acknowledged Ahmed Hassan, an Egyptian citizen.
Others echoed this sentiment, saying Israel has no accurate to displace Palestinians from their gain land.
“This is their land. There is no way they will abandon it and leave. Anyone in their place would not leave their home or accept that someone else push them out of it,” acknowledged Karam Al-Abassi, one other citizen.
“This land belongs to Palestine, so it’s not right for anyone to come and control someone else’s land as he pleases. You understand what I mean? No, this land has had its name here in Palestine since ancient times, a very long time ago. Its name is Palestine. This is their land. It’s not right for anyone to come and seize it all at once and take advantage of the fact that they don’t have an army or a police force or anything,” acknowledged a third citizen named Mohamed Hani.
The circle of war
The Arab League has moreover adverse the setting up of this sort of camp.
The pan-Arab group pressured that there isn’t very the sort of thing as a humanitarian motive behind the camp, indicating that the view reflects Israel’s continued intention to pursue what it calls an “ethnic cleansing strategy”.
“Israel does not know humanity. Even in distributing aid with the United States, it was a trap for some of our brothers in Palestine. Today we are talking about a real tragedy that the international community has unfortunately overlooked,” acknowledged Mohamed Al-Sherif, head of the Al-Araby Heart for Be taught and Be taught.
Cairo is unnerved that if the camp is effect up, this would maybe perhaps well also plot off a mass influx of Palestinians to the Egyptian border with Gaza.
It moreover diagram that Israel would step up its security presence in a zone between the two international locations, where this sort of deployment would be a violation of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
“The more the circle of war expands, the more unsafe it becomes for Israel. We have seen how the circle of war with the Iranian side has expanded, and how Israel’s security has been directly targeted. We are talking about losses faced by the occupying entity which have not occurred since the October 1973 victory. Of course, the liquidation of the Palestinian cause will not achieve security for Israel,” acknowledged Al-Sherif.
Israelis are moreover divided about the view as its implementation would increase the country’s financial tension. Internationally, some Jewish communities in Europe and the US fear that it would maybe perhaps also gasoline antisemitism and that it would maybe perhaps also very well be seen as akin to building a focus camp for Palestinians.
