Said Amori
10 February 2025•Update: 10 February 2025
JERUSALEM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Egypt of preventing Palestinians from leaving Gaza.
In an interview with US broadcaster Fox News aired between Saturday and Sunday night, Netanyahu alleged that Palestinians want to leave the enclave.
He said some Palestinians had been asking to leave Gaza even before the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023.
“Some would bribe the gatekeepers (at the Rafah crossing),” he said. “But they were locked (in) because their neighbor, Egypt, wouldn’t open the door."
Palestinians, however, assert their right to remain on their land and reject all relocation plans.
Netanyahu added that he supports the option of expelling Palestinians from Gaza, even temporarily, to eliminate the Palestinian group Hamas and rebuild the Gaza Strip.
Late Sunday, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning Netanyahu’s remarks regarding the Rafah border crossing, asserting that his statements "are aimed at covering up Israel’s blatant violations against Palestinians in the Strip."
“These remarks seek to divert attention from Israel’s grave violations against civilians and the destruction of vital Palestinian infrastructure, including hospitals, educational institutions, power plants and water facilities," it said.
It also denounced "Israel’s use of siege and starvation as a weapon against civilians."
Egypt also "categorically rejected any statements advocating for the displacement of Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia."
The statement also reaffirmed "Egypt’s solidarity with the resilient people of Gaza, who remain steadfast on their land despite the horrors they endure in defense of their just and legitimate cause."
Commenting on Trump’s plan, Egypt said earlier that it rejects any proposal “that aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause by uprooting the Palestinian people or displacing them from their historical land and seizing it, whether temporarily or permanently.”
It warned of the repercussions of these ideas, “which constitute injustice and an infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and Egypt will not be a party to it."
On Thursday, Netanyahu suggested that Palestinians should establish their state in Saudi Arabia rather than in their own homeland, dismissing any notion of Palestinian sovereignty.
“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” he said.
On Feb. 4, US President Donald Trump said Washington would “take over” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
His proposal was met with widespread condemnation from Palestinians, Arab countries and many other nations across the world, including Canada, France, Germany and the UK.
Trump had initially triggered an uproar last week by suggesting that Palestinians in Gaza should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt, calling the enclave a “demolition site” after Israel’s 15-month war, which has claimed more than 47,000 lives. A ceasefire that took hold on Jan. 19 is currently in place.
His proposal, however, was vehemently rejected by Amman and Cairo.
