Israel happy, but Egypt bitterly opposes Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans

Egypt has warned that its peace deal with Israel, which has stood for nearly half a century, will be at risk if US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza is carried out.

The hard-hitting Egyptian stance came even as Israel gloated over Trump’s proposal, made public by the president in Washington, and said it had begun preparing for the departure of large numbers of Gazans.

Officials in Cairo said Egypt had launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and cancel the plan.

Arab world furious

Trump’s audacious idea has sparked outrage, particularly in the restive Arab world.

Also read: Allies and adversaries reject Trump's suggestion for US 'takeover' of Gaza

Egypt and Jordan have rejected Trump’s plea to accept large numbers of Palestinians from war-battered Gaza. Saudi Arabia has also refused to shake hands with Israel until a Palestinian state is set up. Palestinian leaders have denounced any attempt to mess up the lives of people in Gaza.

Most Palestinians fear that Israel will never allow the refugees to return to Gaza and that Trump’s plan would destabilise the region.

Egypt’s warning

Egypt has warned that such a plan could undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and American influence in the Middle East for decades.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch and other groups say Trump's proposal, if implemented, would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” the forcible relocation of an ethnic group from a geographic area.

Also read: Trump not ruling out deploying US troops to support rebuilding Gaza

Israeli leaders have welcomed Trump's proposal and portrayed the possible mass departure of Palestinians from Gaza as voluntary.

Israel wants Gaza emptied

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he has ordered the military to make preparations to facilitate the emigration of large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza through land crossings and by other means.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has not publicly responded to Trump's proposal that most of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians be relocated, and the US takes charge of rebuilding the territory.

Israel's 15-month campaign against the Hamas has reduced large parts of Gaza to rubble before a fragile ceasefire took effect last month.

Egypt’s message to West

Egyptian officials, speaking on Wednesday (February 5) on condition of anonymity, said it was made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal.

Also read: Trump wants US to take ownership of Gaza and redevelop it

One official said the message has been delivered to the Pentagon, the State Department and members of the US Congress.

A Western diplomat in Cairo said Egypt was very serious and viewed the plan as a threat to its national security.

America’s U-turn?

Trump said he wanted to “permanently” resettle most of Gaza's population in other countries and for the US to take charge of clearing debris and rebuilding Gaza as a “Riviera of the Middle East" for all people. He did not rule out the deployment of US troops there.

US officials later appeared to dial back the proposal, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary and that Trump had not committed to putting American boots on the ground or spending American tax dollars in Gaza.

Also read: Trump's Palestinian refugee idea falls flat with Jordan

Egypt and Israel

Egyptian officials said their government does not believe the Palestinians need to be relocated for reconstruction to proceed and was committed to the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 war.

Israel's government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and has said it will maintain open-ended security control over both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Also read | ‘Clean out’: Trump wants to relocate Gazans; Hamas vows to resist

Trump’s plan has been shot down by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.