Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisihas approved a plan to temporarily relocate up to 500,000Gazaresidents—approximately a quarter of the enclave's population—to a designated city in northern Sinai, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Friday morning.
According to the report, which has not been confirmed by any other sources, the move would require Egypt to open its border to Gaza residents wishing to leave the territory. The reported statement by el-Sissi was said to have been made during recent Arab summits.
The purported Egyptian position has reportedly raised concerns in Jordan, which has stated it is prepared to offer limited aid only to families of the wounded and only on a temporary basis.
Earlier this month, during an Arab League summit,Egypt presented a $53 billion Gaza reconstruction plan, which included the creation of seven zones for temporary housing to accommodate up to 1.5 million Palestinians. According to the report, the United Nations Security Council may consider deploying international peacekeeping forces in Gaza.
The plan also called for a six-month transitional administration led by independent technocrats under the Palestinian Authority, excluding representatives from Gaza’s terrorist factions. At the time, the plan did not include any Egyptian agreement to absorb displaced Gazans.
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בנימין נתניהו ודונלד טראמפבנימין נתניהו ודונלד טראמפ
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Alex Brandon, AP)
Following the Arab League’s endorsement of Egypt’s proposal, the U.S. rejected it, with officials in Washington stating, “The current proposal does not reflect the reality on the ground—Gaza is currently uninhabitable. The residents cannot live humanely amid widespread destruction and unexploded ordnance.”
In response to global criticism of Trump's Gaza relocation concept, the U.S. president said last week, “Nobody’s expelling any Palestinians.”