Al-Sisi warns of Israeli plan to strike Egypt, suggests relocating Palestinians to Negev

Al-Sisi warns of Israeli plan to strike Egypt, suggests relocating Palestinians to Negev
2023-10-18T09:40:14+00:00

Shafaq News / Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stated on Wednesday that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is an "attempt to force the population and civilians to migrate to Egypt," suggesting that if necessary, Israel could relocate them to the Negev Desert.

Speaking during a press conference in Cairo, accompanied by the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Al-Sisi mentioned, "We are a sovereign state that has been keen, over the past years since the peace agreement with Israel, on making this path strategic and nurturing it."

Al-Sisi added, "Transferring Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Sinai is the transfer of the idea of resistance and combat from Gaza to Sinai, where the latter becomes a base for launching attacks against Israel. At that point, Israel has the right to defend itself, and thus, in the context of a reaction, it deals with Egypt and targets Egyptian territory."

He continued, "We do not want to squander peace with an unworkable idea." Al-Sisi emphasized that millions of Egyptians would respond to a call to reject the idea of relocating Palestinians.

He affirmed that "peace is a strategic choice for us in Egypt, and we seek other countries to join us in it" and called for not "skipping what is happening now" in Gaza without understanding the reasons behind it.

Furthermore, Al-Sisi stressed the importance of returning to the path of de-escalation and the necessity of delivering humanitarian assistance. He warned that "the continuation of the current military operations would have security and humanitarian implications that could spiral out of control" and emphasized the need to work intensively to resume the peace process following the containment of the current escalation in Gaza.

Chancellor Scholz mentioned that Germany wishes to support Egypt's efforts to de-escalate and alleviate the dire consequences of the war. He discussed the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip with President Al-Sisi.

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