CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has reiterated his opposition to any efforts by Israel to relocate displaced Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to his country’s Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptian leader made his comments during a phone call he received on Sunday from French President Emmanuel Macron who backed Egypt’s stance on the issue.
In October, Israel acknowledged that its Ministry of Intelligence had drafted a wartime proposal to transfer the Strip’s 2.3 million people to the peninsula.
A document reportedly proposed moving Gaza’s civilian population to tented cities in northern Sinai, then building permanent accommodation and an undefined humanitarian corridor. A security zone would be established inside Israel to block the displaced Palestinians from entering, according to The Times of Israel.
Ahmed Fahmy, Egypt’s presidential spokesman, said that during their call, El-Sisi and Macron discussed ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, prisoner exchanges, and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
He added that the two presidents had highlighted the importance of working toward a two-state solution to the crisis, with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state considered the only realistic way to bring about security and sustainable stability in the region.
The French and Egyptian leaders had noted the need to prevent any military escalation in Gaza’s Rafah city due to its likely catastrophic humanitarian repercussions on nearly 1.5 million Palestinians in the area. They also warned of the danger of the war in Gaza becoming a regional conflict.
