Standing up to Trump - Egypt - Al-Ahram Weekly

Al-Ahram Weekly

11-02-2025

Trump's statements about deporting and relocating the Palestinians from Gaza have been condemned by the public in Egypt
The House of Representatives, the lower house of Egypt's parliament, and all the country's political parties teamed up this week to denounce US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to forcibly displace the Palestinian residents of Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
Trump went further in his statements on Monday by threatening to consider withholding US aid from Egypt and Jordan if they do not comply with his request to take in the Palestinians from Gaza.
The proposals about transferring more than 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza ignore the fact that the Palestinian cause is not just a geographical dispute, but the cause of a people struggling for their legitimate historical rights, said House Speaker Hanafi Gebali this week.
He stressed that 'such proposals, which attempt to circumvent the rights of the Palestinian people, are not limited to threatening the lives of the Palestinians alone, but rather represent a danger to regional security and stability.'
He noted that the Egyptian parliament firmly and categorically rejects any arrangements or attempts to change the geographical and political reality of the Palestinian cause, because such policies have only led in the past to deepening the Middle East crisis and perpetuating injustice.
Displacing the Palestinians, he said, would mean the possibility of transferring the conflict to other lands, with disastrous repercussions for the entire region.
'The only solution to achieving lasting and permanent peace is to implement the two-state solution, which guarantees the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,' Gebali said.
He indicated that he had asked the House's Policy Committee to hold communications with regional and international parliaments to explain Egypt's firm position on the Palestinian cause and the necessity of strengthening parliamentary relations to convey Egypt's voice in support of justice and peace.
'I asked the heads of the committees of foreign relations, Arab affairs, African affairs, defence and national security, and human rights to develop a vision for drafting a comprehensive document that reflects the historical and current Egyptian position towards the Palestinian cause,' Gebali said.
'This document will be drafted in coordination with the Foreign Ministry and will be sent to all world parliaments.'
The House's Foreign Affairs Committee said in a statement on Saturday that Trump's statements regarding the future of Gaza 'do not help efforts underway to calm and resolve the current crisis and should rather be considered as blatant bias in favour of Israel's extremist government led by Netanyahu.'
The statement stressed the committee's rejection of all practices that aim to undermine the rights of the Palestinians, including legitimising settlements, annexing land, and forced displacement, whether temporary or permanent.
Deputy Chairman of the House's Arab Affairs Committee Ayman Mehasseb told Al-Ahram Weekly that the Egyptian parliament's position did not stem from short-sighted political considerations, but from a firm commitment to the principles of international law and international legitimacy, which have repeatedly affirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinians.
Mehasseb praised the Egyptian Foreign Ministry for its clear-cut statements against the displacement of the Palestinians and for reflecting the steadfastness of the Egyptian position in supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is their right to live on their land without fear of displacement or relocation.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during their meeting in Washington on Monday that the Arab states unanimously rejected Trump's plan to displace the Palestinians from Gaza and to take control of the enclave.
The US media said Egypt's Foreign Ministry was pushing back against Trump's stated plan for Gaza and calling for the protection of Palestinian rights.
Abdelatty stressed the importance of speeding up the reconstruction of Gaza while the Palestinians remained on their land, rejecting any forced displacement and reaffirming the strong support of the Arab states and international community for their steadfastness.
He highlighted Egypt's commitment to coordinating with the US administration to achieve a 'comprehensive and just peace and stability' in the region.
Mohamed Hegazi, a former deputy to Egypt's foreign minister, said that the visit of Abdelatty, followed by that of Rubio to the region together with that of Jordan's King Abdullah to Washington and the expected trip of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to Washington, will contribute to re-crystallising the political approach of the regional and international parties for a final settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
These meetings, according to Hegazi, will convince the US administration that most of the initiatives that it has presented over previous years have failed because its focus has been on Israeli interests without considering the interests and security of the Palestinian and regional states.
Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service (SIS) and coordinator of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue, described Trump's plan for taking over Gaza as an attempt at 'stealing the property of others'.
Rashwan said the displacement of the Palestinians was a red line for Egypt and Jordan, even if Trump threatened to cut off aid to these Arab states. 'I don't think that Trump will cut off aid to Egypt or Jordan, because if he does, he must bear the consequences of this decision in mind since this aid is directly related to the peace treaties with Israel,' Rashwan said.
US assistance to Egypt primarily serves American interests in the region, he said, adding that the US needs Egypt as it is the key to stability in the region and has massive political influence in the Middle East.
The Egyptian Parties Alliance, a coalition including 42 political parties, said in a statement on Sunday that it categorically rejected all blackmail attempts and plans aiming at forcing the displacement of the Palestinians from their land.
The alliance also announced its support for the decisions that President Al-Sisi had taken to preserve Egypt's national security against threats resulting from the war on Gaza.
Tayseer Matar, secretary-general of the alliance and deputy chairman of the Senate's Industrial Committee, said Egypt would never succumb to any kind of extortion or pressure to accept the Palestinians from Gaza on its land.
'The Trump-Netanyahu plan in this respect is a conspiracy aimed at destabilising the Middle East at the expense of the rights of the Palestinians,' Matar said in a statement, reiterating that Egypt, owing to its historical position, will remain a supporter of the Palestinian cause and 'will not accept the relinquishment of a single grain of its land in return for money or aid.'
Additional reporting:
Doaa El-Bey
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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