Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday responded to the suggestion that Gaza refugees could be allowed into Sinai, saying that such a scenario is liable to drag his country into a war with Israel.
“The idea of uprooting Palestinians to Sinai means dragging Egypt into a war against Israel,” el-Sisi said. “I have warned more than once against the idea of uprooting Palestinians to Egypt or Jordan.”
“I suggest transferring citizens from Gaza to the Negev in Israel, until the end of the war.”
El-Sisi also blamed Israel for the fact that the Gaza-Israel crossing remains closed despite promises to open it.
- “Egypt did not close the Rafah Crossing,” he claimed. “The Israeli airstrikes have prevented the crossing from operating.”
- On Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned, “There will not be refugees in Jordan, and there will not be refugees in Egypt.”
- He added that the evacuation of Gaza residents southwards “is something which is inconceivable, which will push the entire region into another disaster and a new cycle of violence and destruction.”
Source: Arutz Sheva