Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2nd R) attends the 11th Summit of the Developing 8 Countries (D-8) held in Cairo, the capital of Egypt on December 19, 2024. (Photo by Egyptian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Egypt will play no role in the displacement of Palestinians, describing US President Donald Trump’s ‘ethnic cleansing plan’ for Gaza an “act of injustice” that would threaten Egyptian security, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Wednesday.
This was his first public response to Trump’s call for Cairo to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, something widely seen as part of a ‘genocidal plan‘ by Israel to empty the enclave of its native inhabitants.
Speaking at a press conference with visiting Kenyan President William Ruto, Sisi said Egypt would work with Trump to reach peace between Israel and Palestinians based on a two-state solution.
“Regarding what is being said about the displacement of Palestinians, it can never be tolerated or allowed because of its impact on Egyptian national security,” Sisi said.
“The deportation or displacement of the Palestinian people is an injustice in which we cannot participate.”
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 made most of its 2.3 million people homeless.
Sisi said that if he asked the Egyptian people about Trump’s suggestion, they would take to the streets to reject the displacement of Palestinians.
“The two-state solution is a historical right that can’t be by-passed,” Sisi said, adding that Trump “is able to achieve that goal for a just and permanent peace in the Middle East”.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly rejected by neighbouring 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.
The foreign ministries of Egypt and Jordan have both rejected Trump’s suggestion in recent days.
Trump said earlier that he would speak with Sisi over the weekend, but instead the US Secretary Marco Rubio spoke with his Egyptian counterpart on Gaza without a mention about the Gaza displacement plan.
