CAIRO: Thousands of people demonstrated at the Rafah border crossing on Friday, an eyewitness told Reuters, in a rare state-sanctioned protest against a proposal earlier this week by US President Donald Trump for Egypt and Jordan to accept Gazan refugees.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday rejected the idea that Egypt would facilitate the displacement of Gazans and said Egyptians would take to the streets to express their disapproval.
Protesters could be heard chanting “Long Live Egypt” and waving Egyptian and Palestinian flags.
“We say no to any displacement of Palestine or Gaza at the expense of Egypt, on the land of Sinai,” said Sinai resident Gazy Saeed.
Trump said on Saturday that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of Israeli bombardment that rendered most of its 2.3 million people homeless.
On Thursday, Trump forcefully reiterated the idea, saying “We do a lot for them, and they are going to do it,” in apparent reference to abundant US aid, including military assistance, to both Egypt and Jordan.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza — territory they hope will become part of an independent state — has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly rejected by neighboring Arab states since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt.
Egyptians protest at Rafah border crossing against Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians
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Egyptians protest at Rafah border crossing against Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians
- Trump said on Saturday that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of Israeli bombardment
- Critics warned that Trump's suggestion was exactly what Israel's Zionist extremists have been trying to do, to kick out Palestinians from their homeland
Israel says Lebanon is not doing enough to disarm Hezbollah
- Netanyahu said that Hezbollah must be fully disarmed, citing a US-brokered ceasefire with Lebanon in November 2024
- Hezbollah’s disarmament was “imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future“
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel said Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah are far from sufficient after the Lebanese army declared that it had established operational control in the south, raising pressure on Lebanese leaders who fear Israel could escalate strikes.
In line with US demands, the Lebanese government has been seeking to restrict the possession of arms to state control since the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from a war with Israel in 2024.
The Lebanese army said on Thursday that the goals of the first phase of its plan had been achieved in an “effective and tangible way,” and that it had secured areas under its authority south of the Litani river — excluding positions still occupied by Israeli forces.
ISRAEL SAYS HEZBOLLAH TRYING TO REARM
Following the army’s statement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hezbollah must be fully disarmed, citing a US-brokered ceasefire with Lebanon in November 2024.
While efforts toward this end by Lebanon’s government and army were “an encouraging beginning ... they are far from sufficient, as evidenced by Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm and rebuild its terror infrastructure with Iranian support.”
Hezbollah’s disarmament was “imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future,” it said.
Israel has been conducting near daily strikes in the south and sometimes more widely in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of trying to reestablish infrastructure and Beirut of failing to uphold the 2024 ceasefire agreement.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, which says it has respected the ceasefire in the south and that the agreement does not apply to the rest of Lebanon.
The Lebanese army had set a year-end deadline to clear non-state weaponry from the south, before moving on to other areas of the country. In its statement, the army said there was more work to be done to clear unexploded ordnance and tunnels.
