Egypt
Updated 2024-08-25
2024-08-25 Egypt demands that Israel give up control of Rafah crossing in first days of possible ceasefire – report Egypt insists that Israel must relinquish control of the Rafah Border Crossing during the first days of a potential ceasefire, the Saudi-owned Al Hadath outlet reports, quoting unnamed sources.
As the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies head to Cairo for talks, Egyptian mediators have been attempting to narrow the gaps between Israel and Hamas and to pressure Israel to phase out the IDF presence along the Philadelphi route. To persuade the terror group to come to an agreement, Egypt has told Hamas that it agrees with its position rejecting any permanent Israeli presence along the border corridor, Al Hadath adds.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/egypt-demands-that-israel-give-up-control-of-rafah-crossing-in-first-days-of-possible-ceasefire-report/ar-AA1pofMQ?
2024-02-03 ‘Pressure Cooker of Despair’: UN, EU ‘Deeply Concerned’ about Rafah Invasion Israeli occupation forces intensified their attacks last night in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as their fighter jets struck three homes, killing 24 and wounding dozens, the Ministry of Health announced. Rafah is densely populated with displaced people from all around the besieged Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed that the Israeli army was preparing to move to Rafah. However, Israeli media reported on Saturday that Tel Aviv had pledged to Egypt it would not start an operation in Rafah before reducing its population. According to the Israeli media, the Israeli government would move the displaced people to Khan Yunis or Deir Al-Balah and not back to the northern part of Gaza. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/pressure-cooker-of-despair-un-eu-deeply-concerned-about-rafah-invasion/
For Palestinians, it would roll back a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty. It could also open the door to Israel maintaining longer-term control over the border after the war, altering a security arrangement with Gaza that has existed for nearly two decades.
Egypt is concerned that an Israeli operation could infringe on the terms of a 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, which places limits on the number of troops both nations can place near the borders in the area. An Israeli military operation also risks accidentally doing damage inside Egyptian territory. Israeli officials say they are working to address those concerns by coordinating their plans for an incursion on the Gaza side with Egypt. Egypt in recent days rejected an Israeli proposal that would involve stationing Israeli security personnel on the Egyptian side of the border for joint patrols with Egypt, saying it would breach Egyptian sovereignty.
An offensive in the area will be complicated militarily due to the presence of more than a million Palestinian civilians who have fled the rest of the strip and have concentrated in the area. Most of them are packed into the city of Rafah adjacent to the border or camping in areas along the boundary. Even a limited military operation to occupy a stretch of land a few hundred yards wide would require Israeli forces to push through Rafah city, which straddles the border, and areas where the displaced people have gathered in tent camps. Security analysts are concerned that such an operation would deepen the humanitarian crisis. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-plans-risky-mission-to-seize-last-gaza-border-it-doesn-t-control/ar-AA1mUAkQ
2023-12-25 Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war and create transitional Palestinian government Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war with a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said Monday.
The proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel’s professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel’s insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war. Israel’s War Cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet later Monday discuss the hostage situation, among other topics, an Israeli official said, but would not say if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Egyptian proposal was an ambitious bid not only to end the war but also to lay out a plan for the day after. It calls for an initial cease-fire of up to two weeks during which Palestinian militants would free 40 to 50 hostages, among them women, the sick and the elderly, in return for the release of 120-150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the Egyptian official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks.
At the same time, negotiations would continue on extending the cease-fire and the release of more hostages and bodies held by Palestinian militants, he said. Egypt and Qatar would also work with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to agree on the establishment of a government of experts, he said. The government would rule Gaza and the West Bank for a transitional period as Palestinian factions settle their disputes and agree on a roadmap to hold presidential and parliamentary elections, he added. In the meantime, Israel and Hamas would continue to negotiate a comprehensive “all-for-all” deal, he said. This would include the release of all remaining hostages in return for all Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza and the Palestinian militants’ halting of rocket attacks into Israel. Close to 8,000 Palestinians are held by Israel on security-related charges or convictions, according to Palestinian figures. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/egypt-floats-plan-to-end-israel-hamas-war-and-create-transitional-palestinian-government/ar-AA1m0AHv?
2023-11-05 Israel Quietly Pushed for Egypt to Admit Large Numbers of Gazans Israel has quietly tried to build international support in recent weeks for the transfer of several hundred thousand civilians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt for the duration of its war in the territory, according to six senior foreign diplomats.
Israeli leaders and diplomats have privately proposed the idea to several foreign governments, framing it as a humanitarian initiative that would allow civilians to temporarily escape the perils of Gaza for refugee camps in the Sinai Desert, just across the border in neighboring Egypt.
The suggestion was dismissed by most of Israel’s interlocutors — who include the United States and Britain — because of the risk that such a mass displacement could become permanent. These countries fear that such a development might destabilize Egypt and lock significant numbers of Palestinians out of their homeland, according to the diplomats, who spoke anonymously in order to discuss a sensitive matter more freely.
The idea has also been firmly rejected by Palestinians, who fear that Israel is using the war — which began Oct. 7 after terrorists from Gaza raided Israel and killed roughly 1,400 people — to permanently displace the more than 2 million people living in Gaza.
More than 700,000 Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel during the war surrounding the creation of the state in 1948. … https://www.democraticunderground.com/1134138511
2023-10-18 Egypt’s Sisi rejects transfer of Gazans, discusses aid with Biden President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that Egyptians in their millions would reject the forced displacement of Palestinians into Sinai, adding that any such move would turn the Egyptian peninsula into a base for attacks against Israel. https://www.reuters.com/world/egypt-rejects-any-displacement-palestinians-into-sinai-says-sisi-2023-10-18/
2023-10-12 Egypt warned Israel days before Hamas struck, US committee chairman says Israel was warned by Egypt of potential violence three days before Hamas’ deadly cross-border raid, a US congressional panel chairman has said. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee head Michael McCaul told reporters of the alleged warning. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu described the reports as “absolutely false”.
Israeli intelligence services are under scrutiny for their failure to prevent the deadliest attack by Palestinian militants in Israel’s 75-year history. “We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” Mr McCaul told reporters following a closed-door intelligence briefing on Wednesday for lawmakers about the Middle East crisis, according to AFP news agency. “I don’t want to get too much into classified, but a warning was given,” the Texas Republican added. “I think the question was at what level.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67082047 2012-03-23 Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad Slams Egypt over Fuel Shortage in Gaza Strip, and Says: “Half of the Palestinians Are Egyptians and the Other Half Are Saudis”https://www.memri.org/tv/hamas-minister-interior-and-national-security-fathi-hammad-slams-egypt-over-fuel-shortage-gaza
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