Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will postpone a planned visit to Washington amid growing tensions between Egypt and the United States, diplomatic sources have told our Arabic edition on condition of anonymity.
The visit, which was scheduled for 18 February, has been delayed indefinitely due to Cairo’s opposition to a US plan touted by President Donald Trump to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
Egypt is yet to comment officially on the report, but senior Egyptian officials have described relations with Washington as at their most strained in three decades, following what they said were strongly negative responses from the Trump administration to Egypt’s concerns over the proposal.
One of the factors behind the decision to delay the visit was reportedly President Donald Trump’s repeated reference to Sisi as “the general”, a term used again during a recent White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Egyptian officials viewed this as dismissive, sources said.
Cairo also believes that Netanyahu’s recent criticism of both Egypt and Saudi Arabia was given tacit approval by the US. Netanyahu recently accused Egypt of turning Gaza into a “large open-air prison” and suggested that Saudi Arabia should establish a Palestinian state on its own territory.
Egyptian officials have called for closer coordination with Saudi Arabia before engaging in any further discussions with Washington.
A planned summit involving Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and President Sisi, expected to take place in the coming days, is also now likely to be postponed, sources said.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian diplomatic source in Washington said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had warned US officials and members of Congress that implementing Trump’s relocation plan could lead to a resurgence of radical Islamist groups in the region.
He argued that such groups, which have been weakened by efforts from Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations, could gain strength from the Palestinian issue, leading to greater instability and an increased threat to US interests.
In a further development, Trump has threatened to cut US aid to Egypt and Jordan if they refuse to accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza. Speaking at the White House, he also warned that he would scrap the ceasefire in Gaza unless Hamas released all Israeli hostages by Saturday.
“If the hostages are not released, the gates of hell will open,” he said.
A senior Egyptian diplomat said any move to withhold US aid would directly threaten the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
“US assistance to Egypt is a formal part of the agreement,” the diplomat said. “If this is withdrawn, the treaty itself will have to be reconsidered.”
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he is committed to buying and owning Gaza, but could allow sections of the land to be rebuilt by other states in the Middle East.
“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back,” he said.
Trump made his remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl.
“There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished. Everything’s demolished,” he said.
Trump also said that he was open to the possibility of allowing some Palestinian refugees into the United States, but would consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.
