Egypt renewed its commitment to rejecting any plans to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip to Sinai. It stressed its rejection of “liquidating the Palestinian issue at the expense of neighboring countries.” The Egyptian position came through statements and practical actions on the ground during an expanded visit by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to North Sinai on Tuesday, during which he was accompanied by parliamentarians, politicians, and heads of opposition parties, in addition to… A group of media professionals and artists on a visit that was not devoid of clear implications.
The visit coincided with the 55th anniversary of the Al-Hasna Conference, which represented a “slap” to Israel for internationalizing Sinai in 1968. Madbouly also met with the sheikhs of the Sinai tribes at the headquarters of the 101st Battalion, which had an active role in combating terrorism during the past ten years.
The Prime Minister reiterated Egypt’s rejection of any ideas or plans regarding the displacement of Palestinians to Sinai, stressing during his meeting with Sinai sheikhs at the headquarters of the 101st Battalion in Arish that Sinai “will remain a precious spot in the heart of every citizen,” expressing “the Egyptian people’s readiness to sacrifice millions of lives to protect Sinai.” ».
Madbouly stressed that Egypt “will not allow regional issues to be resolved at the expense of its land,” pointing to the success of the Egyptian state in investing and working in the development of Sinai, in parallel with the fight against terrorism. He also announced the launch of the second phase of the Sinai development plan, which includes establishing projects at an investment cost. It is estimated at 363 billion pounds over the next five years.
Part of Madbouly’s meeting with the Sinai tribes (Egyptian government)
Fixed position
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had affirmed on several occasions Egypt’s firm position of “rejecting the policies of collective punishment and displacement,” stressing that Egypt “did not and will not allow the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egyptian lands.”
On Tuesday, the Egyptian Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for a group of new development projects in Sinai. He also inspected the Rafah crossing, where he followed the process of organizing the entry of aid into Gaza, stressing “the necessity of stopping Israeli operations against the civilian population in the Strip.” He stressed that Egypt has borne the brunt of the Palestinian issue since 1948.
For his part, the commander of the Second Field Army in Egypt, Mohamed Rabie, said that the army soldiers “are stationed to protect Egypt’s national security.” He stressed during the Prime Minister’s visit that they “are sparing no effort to maintain the highest levels of preparedness and readiness to carry out any tasks entrusted to them to protect Egypt’s national security in the northeastern strategic direction.”
In this context, the head of the Egyptian Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, reiterated Egypt’s rejection of “the deportation of any Palestinian brother to Egyptian territory, and does not accept that the Palestinian cause be liquidated,” adding during a press conference at the Rafah crossing in the presence of a group of foreign correspondents in Egypt, that “ “Egypt confirms its complete bias towards international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the non-deportation of displaced persons by force.”
Egyptian soldiers carry out a combing operation in North Sinai (archive)
Israeli document
The Israeli Ministry of Intelligence proposed in an official document “to transfer the population of the Gaza Strip, numbering 2.3 million people, to the Sinai Peninsula,” according to what was reported by the Associated Press news agency. The document, whose authenticity was acknowledged by the Israeli authorities on Monday, after it was first published by a local Israeli news website called Sicha Mekomit, included transferring the civilian population in Gaza to “tent cities in northern Sinai, then building permanent cities for them and establishing a zone.” security inside Israel to prevent displaced Palestinians from entering.”
Although the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed this report, describing it as merely a “hypothetical paper,” it reinforced Egyptian fears that Israeli forces would push the residents of the Gaza Strip to flee towards the Egyptian border, especially after the occupation army issued repeated warnings to residents. In northern Gaza, they were required to evacuate their homes and head south (towards the Egyptian border).
The expanded visit of the Egyptian Prime Minister to Sinai coincided with the 55th anniversary of the Al-Hasana Conference, a conference held by the Israeli authorities in the city of Al-Hasana in North Sinai on October 31, 1968, following its occupation of Sinai, as the Israelis tried to “incite the people of Sinai to gain independence there and declare it an independent state.” To eliminate its dependence on Egypt and prove its lack of right to recover Sinai again. However, the sheikh of the Sinai tribes at the time, Salem Al-Harash, embarrassed the Israeli authorities when he spoke in front of the international media mobilized by the Israeli authorities, stressing “all the tribes’ adherence to the Egyptianness of Sinai, and considering the Israelis an occupying authority.”
The Israeli authorities then took violent measures against the residents and arrested 120 Sinai sheikhs and citizens, while Sheikh Al-Harash was smuggled across Jordan, and from there to Egypt, and the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser later presented him with the First Class Medal of Excellence.
Madbouly during the massive conference held in Sinai (Egyptian government)
Sinai development
A member of the Senate (the second chamber of the Egyptian Parliament) from North Sinai, Fayez Abu Harb, considered the Egyptian Prime Minister’s visit to Sinai in light of the “difficult” atmosphere in the Gaza Strip, and on the anniversary of the Al-Hasna Conference, “a clear message,” stressing that “all of Egypt is officially… Popularly, it rejects any displacement of the Palestinian brothers, and adheres to supporting them to remain steadfast on their land, and not giving the Israeli occupation authorities the opportunity to implement their criminal plans and commit a new catastrophe against the Palestinian people.
Abu Harb added that the Egyptian state’s insistence on completing Sinai development projects and allocating 363 billion pounds (the dollar is equivalent to 30.9 pounds) also represents “practical evidence” of Egypt’s commitment to Sinai and its future, and a realistic denial of any attempts to point to the exploitation of economic conditions to pass displacement projects, stressing that the people of Sinai “they stand with the heart of one man to support the state’s position rejecting any displacement of Palestinians.”
Egypt implemented the first phase of the economic development plan for Sinai from 2014 to 2023, spending more than 600 billion Egyptian pounds on development projects there, and also established a network of tunnels and bridges linking Sinai to the Nile Valley.
2023-11-01 12:49:06
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