by MOHAMAD HASAN SWEIDAN
Egypt’s stability is crucial for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but now they’re linking financial aid to the mass displacement of Gazans to Sinai, which poses an even greater threat to Cairo’s national security.
As Israel’s brutal military assault on Gaza escalates, reports continue to swirl about a big Egyptian trade-off in the works: the absorption of large numbers of displaced Palestinians from the Strip in exchange for easing Cairo’s massive debt load – which surpasses $160 billion.
Yet more than four months after the war’s onset, Egyptian parliamentarian Mustafa Bakri says President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has rejected $250 billion from foreign states as payment to allow Gazans to flood the Sinai.
Despite Cairo’s repeated rejection of forcibly transferring Palestinians into Egyptian territory, ongoing fears of a potential influx of Gazans fleeing Israeli atrocities, the viability of their return, and the destabilization of the Sinai border have continued to beset the Egyptian government. And important questions linger about who truly stands to gain from the displacement of Palestinians beyond Gaza’s confines.
As the conflict grows in both ferocity and breadth, it has become evident that for many Arab leaders, the Palestinian cause has become a secondary concern, if not a burdensome inconvenience. Arab states that normalized relations with Israel in 2020 – such as the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – currently view Palestine as an obstacle to their diplomatic flexibility.
The plan: cash for displacement
As Israel advances militarily into Gaza’s southernmost territory, Rafah, photos and videos published by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights reveal that Egypt has begun constructing a closed zone on its border with Gaza – ostensibly aimed at sheltering Palestinians fleeing the anticipated Israeli attack on Rafah.
The images show workers using heavy machinery to install concrete barriers and security towers around a strip of land on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
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