Egypt Declines Entry to Palestinians Fleeing Gaza; Cites Long-standing Concerns

By IndraStra Global News Team

Map Attribute: Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt. / Source: Google Earth

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi declared that Egypt would not accept Palestinian refugees seeking shelter from the recent bombardment in Gaza, thereby closing off a potential evacuation route for civilians attempting to heed Israel's warnings and leave the conflict zone.
President el-Sissi conveyed his country's aspirations for a resolution to the Palestinian issue through peaceful negotiations, ultimately leading to a just and equitable peace settlement and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. However, he emphasized that Egypt would not allow the Palestinian cause to be resolved at the expense of other parties.
The recent escalation of hostilities in Gaza began after Hamas militants staged a deadly cross-border attack on Saturday, prompting Israel to initiate heavy bombardments. Israeli authorities have urged civilians to leave the Gaza Strip in light of the intensifying violence. However, evacuating the area has been a longstanding challenge due to the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt since Hamas came into power in 2007. This blockade has permitted only a limited flow of goods and people to exit the impoverished region for work or medical purposes.
In the aftermath of the Saturday attack, all border crossings between Israel and Gaza were sealed, and on Tuesday night, the sole crossing between Gaza and Egypt, located at Rafah, was struck by Israeli airstrikes, rendering it non-operational as of Wednesday. Due to the continued Israeli air strikes, Egyptian authorities announced the temporary closure of the Rafah border crossing from their end. This closure has effectively resulted in a complete blockade of the Palestinian territory.
President el-Sissi's decision to deny entry to Palestinian refugees is rooted in longstanding Egyptian concerns. Egypt has harbored fears that Israel might attempt to resolve the conflict in Gaza by forcibly relocating its Arab population to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, a region characterized by arid landscapes and low population density, which has seen a history of insurgency against Cairo.
As reported by Egyptian state media, an unnamed security source stated on Wednesday that "the Israeli occupation has sought throughout the conflict to try to resettle the people of Gaza in Sinai," characterizing it as a move that "forces Palestinians to choose between death under bombing or displacement outside their lands."
In comments published by Egyptian state media, el-Sissi characterized the war in Gaza as "highly dangerous" and expressed concerns over its potential impact on regional security and stability.
Historically, Egypt has experienced several conflicts with Israel. The Sinai Peninsula was occupied by Israel between 1967 and 1982, during which time 18 Israeli settlements were established there. Nevertheless, Egypt became the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel in 1979, marking the end of decades of hostilities. Since then, the two countries have maintained a sometimes tense but frequently productive relationship, which encompasses cooperation in security and intelligence matters, especially concerning the Gaza Strip, a territory Egypt ruled from 1948 to 1967 but has long regarded as a security concern.
Throughout the period of Israeli and Egyptian blockades of Gaza, the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was riddled with a complex network of smuggling tunnels, serving as a vital supply line for the 2 million people residing in the region. These tunnels facilitated the transportation of essential goods such as packaged foods, medicine, and construction materials, which were vital for the survival of the population. However, they also enabled the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, raising concerns for Egypt and Israel.
Egypt undertook extensive efforts to dismantle these smuggling networks, fearing that they could facilitate the infiltration of militants and weapons into the Sinai Peninsula. In 2014, Egypt even resorted to destroying parts of Rafah on its side of the border to eradicate these tunnels.
Egypt has also been actively suppressing the Muslim Brotherhood, which shares ideological ties with Hamas, for over a decade. The Muslim Brotherhood emerged victorious in Egypt's first and only democratic presidential election in 2012 but was overthrown in a military coup orchestrated by el-Sissi the following year. Subsequently, numerous elected Brotherhood officials were imprisoned or killed, including the deposed president, Mohammed Morsi, who died in a Cairo courtroom in 2019.

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