Gaza displacement rejected by Egypt's Sisi

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rejected any plans for Palestinian displacement on Wednesday during talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Sisi “reiterated Egypt's firm stance against the displacement of the Palestinian people or any attempt to annihilate the Palestinian cause” during Abbas's visit. Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Abbas praised Egypt's “steadfast positions”.

The meeting came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said it was only a matter of time before Israel resumes full-scale war in Gaza “to finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan”.

Katz said earlier this month that Israel was ready to remove Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land but was waiting for the United States, which he said was discussing where Gaza's two million people would go. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee has denied any plan to “displace people out of Gaza against their will”.

Egypt shares the only land border with the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel. Since 2023, Cairo has rejected plans to displace Gaza's more than two million people into the Sinai Peninsula.

Abbas also briefed Sisi on Israeli moves in the occupied West Bank, including the E1 settlement plan, which he said seeks to separate the northern and southern parts of the territory. The major settlement, which would further separate east Jerusalem from the West Bank, was green-lit by Israel last year and has faced international criticism.

The UN secretary general has said the E1 plan posed an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.