Egypt denies establishing an area on the Gaza border that could be used to house Palestinian refugees
Egypt denied establishing an area on the border with the Gaza Strip that could be used to house Palestinian refugees, if an Israeli attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip led to a mass exodus across the border.
The head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, told Reuters: “This has no basis in truth.” Our Palestinian brothers said and Egypt said that there is no preparation for this possibility.”
Four sources said that Egypt had begun paving the way for an area on the border with the Gaza Strip, which could be used to house Palestinian refugees, if an Israeli attack on the city of Rafah in the south of the Strip led to a mass exodus across the border. The sources described this measure as “an emergency move by Cairo,” according to To Reuters news agency.
Egypt, which denied making any such preparations, has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the possibility that the devastating Israeli attack on Gaza could lead to the exodus of Palestinians to Sinai, something Cairo says is “completely unacceptable,” repeating warnings issued by Arab countries such as Jordan.
Smoke rises in the city of Rafah amid intense bombardment on the city (AFP)
Egypt opposes the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as part of a broader Arab rejection of any repetition of the “Nakba” when about 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their homes in the war that followed the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
The United States has also repeatedly said that it will oppose any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
One of the sources said that Egypt is optimistic that talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire could lead to avoiding such a scenario, but it is working to establish the zone on the border as a “temporary and precautionary” measure.
Three security sources said that Egypt has begun paving a desert area and establishing some simple facilities that may be used to house Palestinian refugees, stressing that “this is an emergency step.”
The sources that Reuters spoke to for this report refused to reveal their identities. Because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Israel says it will launch an attack to control the “last stronghold” of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge. To escape the devastating Israeli attack on Gaza.
Israel stated that the army is preparing a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah to other areas of the Gaza Strip.
But Martin Griffiths, the United Nations aid coordinator, said yesterday (Thursday) that the idea of people in Gaza moving to a safe place is pure “illusion.” He warned of the possibility of an influx of Palestinians into Egypt if Israel launched a military operation in Rafah.
He described this scenario as “a kind of nightmare for Egypt.”
The first source said that preparing the area began 3 or 4 days ago, and will provide temporary shelter in the event of a scenario of individuals crossing the border “until a solution is reached.”
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, a non-governmental human rights organization concerned with monitoring the human rights situation in the Sinai Peninsula, published pictures on Monday, which it said showed trucks and cranes operating in the area, and pictures of concrete barriers.
The foundation quoted an unidentified source as saying that the goal of the construction work is to create a “security buffer zone” in the event of a mass exodus of Palestinians.
Reuters was able to confirm that the location in part of the video is Rafah, based on the locations of buildings, trees and fences that match satellite images of the area.
Reuters was unable to confirm the full location of the video or the date it was filmed.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says that about 1.5 million Palestinians, or more than half of the population of the Gaza Strip, are currently in Rafah.
Israel says it needs to expand its attack to include Rafah to eliminate Hamas, which launched an attack on October 7, which Israeli statistics said killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
With more than 28,000 killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza, according to health authorities in the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, the fate of those who took refuge in Rafah has become a source of international concern, including Israel’s allies in the West.
US President Joe Biden informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again yesterday (Thursday) that he should not move forward with any military operation in Rafah without a good and implementable plan. To protect Palestinian civilians sheltering there.
A US State Department spokesman said: “The President made clear that we do not support the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. The United States does not fund camps in Egypt for displaced Palestinians.”
Netanyahu’s office ordered the army to develop a plan to evacuate Rafah, but no plan has been revealed yet.
Netanyahu said, in an interview with ABC News, that they can go to the areas north of Rafah that the army has cleared.
Avi Dichter, the Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Village Development, stated on Wednesday that the evacuation process is a “military matter,” and that the Israeli army knows how to carry it out.
In comments to Israeli Army Radio, Dichter said that there was “enough land west of Rafah,” and he specifically mentioned the Al-Mawasi area on the coastal strip, to which the Israeli army said civilians should flee early in the attack.
The Gaza war increased pressure on relations between Egypt and Israel, which signed a peace agreement in 1979.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and former Egyptian Foreign Minister, said earlier this week that Israeli actions threaten the continuity of the agreements with Egypt and Jordan, in reference to the peace treaties with the two Arab countries.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on February 12 that Egypt has maintained the agreement for 40 years, and will continue to do so as long as both sides are committed to it.
2024-02-16 14:36:45
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