Israel yesterday said it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, while Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan.
The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out.
Trump yesterday said that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US after the war and that no US soldiers would be needed for his plan to redevelop it.
Photo: AFP
The Palestinians have vehemently rejected Trump’s proposal, fearing that Israel would never allow refugees to return. Egypt has warned that an expulsion of Palestinians would destabilize the region and undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and US influence for decades.
Saudi Arabia, another key US ally, has also rejected any mass transfer of Palestinians and says it would not normalize relations with Israel — a key goal of the Trump administration — without the creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza.
Trump and Israeli officials have not said how they would respond if Palestinians refuse to leave.
However, Human Rights Watch and other groups have said the plan, if implemented, would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” the forcible relocation of the civilian population of an ethnic group from a geographic area.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz said he has ordered the military to make preparations to facilitate the emigration of large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza through land crossings as well as “special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground.
While Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has not publicly responded to Trump’s proposal, Egyptian officials, speaking on Wednesday on condition of anonymity, said Cairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it would resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.
A Western diplomat in Cairo, also speaking anonymously confirmed receiving the message from Egypt.
The diplomat said Egypt was very serious and viewed the plan as a threat to its national security.
The diplomat said Egypt rejected similar proposals from the administration of former US president Joe Biden and European countries early in the war, which was sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.
The earlier proposals were broached privately, while Trump announced his plan at a White House news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last week, Egypt hosted a meeting of top diplomats from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — which was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords Trump brokered with Israel. All five Arab nations rejected the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza or the West Bank.
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