The displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is a “red line” and Cairo will not allow any party to risk Egypt’s national security or sovereignty, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Monday.
In an exclusive interview with CNN in the northern Egyptian town of Al-Arish, close to the Gaza border, Abdelatty said that Egypt is working through “different channels, with one objective, to alleviate the burden and suffering of Palestinians,” adding that mass Palestinian emigration from Gaza would not be tolerated by his country.
“We will not accept it, we will not participate in it, and we will not allow it to happen,” Abdelatty told CNN, adding that displacement is guaranteed to be a “one way ticket” for Palestinians out of Gaza, which would lead to the “liquidation” of their cause altogether.
The Israeli government has never given a detailed vision of what will happen to Gaza after the war but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly advocated for moving Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, particularly after US President Donald Trump floated the idea early this year. But even after Trump appeared to cool on the proposal, Israeli officials have embraced it.
Egypt is Gaza’s only access to the outside world as Israel has blockaded the territory from the land, sea and air. Cairo has come under intense public pressure to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians and has repeatedly blamed Israel for blocking aid as thousands of trucks remain stranded at its border.
