Egypt reaffirms rejection of forced displacement of Palestinians to Sinai

Cairo, Nov 22

Egypt has reiterated its absolute rejection of the Palestinians' "forced displacement" from the Gaza Strip to the country's Sinai Peninsula, which borders the war-torn besieged enclave.

Speaking at a parliament session, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also expressed Egypt's "complete rejection of liquidating the Palestinian issue without a just solution", stressing that "in any case, it (the solution) will never happen at Egypt's expense", reports Xinhua news agency

"Egypt will not hesitate to use all measures to safeguard its borders in the event of any scenario regarding the displacement of Palestinians into Egyptian territories," he said.

Madbouly stressed that "failure to immediately stop the brutal military operations in the Gaza Strip will contribute to undermining the security and stability of the entire region and drag the region into more tensions".

"Egypt's position is consistent in respecting the peace treaty with Israel, and in return, it looks forward to such a position from Israel, especially with regard to Israel's current actions in the Gaza Strip and the indirect threat they may pose to Egypt," he added.

The Minister also said Egypt has not closed the Rafah border crossing, its sole crossing point with Gaza, since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, noting that Cairo had sent more than 11,200 tons of aid to the enclave as of November 19, while other 30 donating countries had provided 3,000 tonnes combined.

Madbouly reiterated Egypt's vision of a peaceful permanent settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"There is no way to solve the Palestinian issue except through the two-state solution, in a just and comprehensive manner that guarantees security and stability in the Middle East, through the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," the Prime Minister added.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt's North Sinai and Gaza has been the only lifeline for Gazans, via which tons of humanitarian aid supplies have been transported into the besieged enclave since October 21.

Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has for years been a key regional peacemaker in the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.