Israel-Hamas war: Why is Egypt resistant to an influx of Palestinians refugees?
Egypt's President Sisi has reiterated his rejection of forced displacement of Palestinians to Sinai, as it would mark the end of the Palestinian cause and the dream of an independent state.
Israel-Hamas war: Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Egypt has been caught in the crossfire of humanitarian steps and looking at the far future, attempting to avoid a situation like Lebanon and Jordan, when it comes to allowing an influx of Palestinians in the Senai Peninsula.
Egypt has been wanting to help the most seriously injured Palestinians leave, but adamantly refusing to contemplate a surge of Palestinian refugees into the Sinai peninsula.
The stricture to avoid an influx has been on Sisi's mind so much so that Egypt’s prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, said earlier this week, “We are prepared to sacrifice millions of lives to ensure that no one encroaches upon our territory".
Egypt faced flak from international leaders when it refused to open the Rafah crossing, which would have allowed Palestinians to flee Israel's incessant bombardment on Gaza.
Leaked documents of the Israeli ministry has shown that PM Netanyahu in his ‘complete seize’ plans aims to expel Palestinians from Gaza, albeit temporarily. Palestinians fear a repeat of what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe – the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948 after the creation of Israel.
Sisi has said at the Cairo peace summit on 21 October that the world must never condone the use of human suffering to force people into displacement.
“Egypt has affirmed, and is reiterating, its vehement rejection of the forced displacement of the Palestinians and their transfer to Egyptian lands in Sinai, as this will mark the last gasp in the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, shatter the dream of an independent Palestinian state, and squander the struggle of the Palestinian people and that of the Arab and Islamic peoples over the course of the Palestinian cause that has endured for 75 years,” he said, Guardian reports.
From the latest developments, Sisi does not look ready to take the risk of housing 1 million Palestinians, who are scrambling to hold onto life, at camps in Egypt.
On Wednesday, Rafah opened for the evacuation of dozens of injured Palestinians and hundreds of foreign passport holders. However, this Qatar mediated negotiation may not have a longer shelf life, as Israel pounds Gaza with air strikes and ground incursion.
To avoid an influx, or a fate like Lebanon and Jordan, Sisi has assembled a mass of tanks on the Egyptian side of the border to prevent such an occurrence.
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First Published:2 Nov 2023, 10:32 PM IST
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