US support for Egypt at risk if Cairo refuses to accept Gazans, UAE President warns - Yuval Levy

 

by Yuval Levy

The message was delivered last weekend by UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed during a brief, surprise visit to Cairo.

 

Tents for Palestinians seeking refuge are set up on the grounds of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) centre in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas (photo credit: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Egyptian government has been warned that this is their “last chance” to accept a portion of Gaza’s displaced population and that they risk losing American support if they refuse, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Sunday.

The message was delivered last weekend by UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed during a brief, surprise visit to Cairo. The meeting follows Egypt’s continued rejection of US President Donald Trump’s relocation plan, as well as the refusal of several other countries to accept Gazan residents within their borders.

President Trump and Tahnoun bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE National Security Advisor, met at the White House last Tuesday. Following their conversation, the United States announced that the UAE has committed to investing $1.4 trillion in the American economy over the next 10 years.

Zayed reportedly emphasized that if Egypt continues to refuse the transfer of Gazan residents, the United States would redirect economic aid intended for Egypt to other regions. In exchange for accepting the displaced individuals, the United States has promised to provide billions of dollars in support of reviving the struggling Egyptian economy.

Palestinians make their way to the northern Gaza Strip from the south. February 13, 2025. (credit: Ali Hassan/Flash90)

The current proposal

According to Al-Araby’s Egyptian sources, the current proposal involves transferring between 500,000 and 700,000 Palestinian citizens from the area spanning the northern Netzarim axis and the Gaza Envelope settlements in the northern Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip would be confined to the area south of the Netzarim axis, extending to the current border with Egypt, according to the plan.

Allegedly, the United States and Israel are primarily focused on relocating Gazans to Egypt, postponing Jordan’s role in the transfer, which will include absorbing residents of the West Bank at a later stage.

Israel’s new defense department

On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet approved Defense Minister Israel Katz’s proposal to establish a new department within the Ministry of Defense to organize the ‘voluntary departure’ of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Katz’s office stated that the department would work to “secure and organize the safe and orderly departure of Gaza residents” by providing transportation routes, implementing screening measures at crossings, and coordinating travel by land, sea, and air.

On Friday, the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) responded to media allegations that Cairo was preparing to relocate half a million Gazans to the northern Sinai region.

“Egypt has resolutely and definitively rejected any attempt to forcibly or voluntarily displace Palestinian brothers and sisters to any location outside Gaza, especially to Egyptian territories,” the SIS emphasized, according to Egypt Independent, a privately owned, pro-government publication. “This would represent the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and pose an imminent threat to Egypt’s national security.”

Yuval Levy

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-847641

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