US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal that the United States should assume control over Gaza after the end of Israeli military operations there and develop it economically after the permanent displacement of two million Palestinians has been met with fierce rejection from Cairo.
In stepping up its categorical refusal of the proposal, the Egyptian government has informed officials in the Trump administration that the displacement and annexation plans threaten the Egyptian Israeli peace treaty signed in 1979 and sponsored by the United States and ultimately put diplomatic relations between the two countries at stake.
The Egyptian government has repeatedly rejected Israeli plans to displace the Palestinians from Gaza and has also rejected recent statements by President Trump in which he endorsed the displacement plans and called on Egypt to receive displaced Gazans.
It has moved to coordinate with Jordan, the other Arab country most concerned with the displacement plans, and with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to build a unified Arab position rejecting Israel’s plans and Trump’s statements.
Popular reactions in Egypt have been completely consistent with the government’s position rejecting the displacement of the Palestinian population from Gaza. The Egyptian public has also been critical of President Trump’s demand that their country host displaced Gazans.
Evoking past moments of Egyptian opposition to US policies in the Middle East, especially in the 1950s and 1960s under late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, popular reactions have leaned towards a nationalist framing, calling on the government to stand up to America and not to acquiesce to pressure from Trump.
These popular reactions have been clearly expressed in statements by some professional unions, such as the Press Syndicate, and in statements by some civil society organizations and political parties. Anti-displacement sentiments and nationalist notions have also shaped the public discourse on Gaza, as manifested in newspaper editorials, TV talk shows,, and interventions by social media influencers.
Trump’s Gaza plan is playing with fire in different ways.
First, the displacement of Gazans directly threatens a pillar of Egypt’s national security, which is to prevent all forms of the mass presence of Palestinian refugees on Egyptian soil, especially in Sinai. Second, the plan directly threatens the peace between Egypt and Israel, which since 1979 has been based on mutual respect for national sovereignty and non-aggression.
Third, and because of the Trump administration’s endorsement of the Palestinian displacement, the strategic partnership between Egypt and the United States is also threatened. Cairo has always valued this strategic partnership as a fundamental component of its foreign policy that serves both countries’ interests. Fourth, the displacement plans in Gaza and the annexation plans in the West Bank threaten to further destabilize the Middle East and put under pressure Egypt’s commitment to peace and conflict resolution.
Since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, Egypt has allowed a limited number of Gazans to travel to the country, whether for medical treatment or family reasons. Therefore, Egypt has not seen a significant increase in the number of Palestinian refugees on its territory.
However, the admission of refugees from Sudan in large numbers due to the raging civil war in that country and the continued presence of large numbers of Syrian and Yemeni refugees are putting economic and social pressure on the Egyptian government and pushing it, in addition to national security considerations, to reject any pressures to receive displaced Gazans.
Displacement plans in Gaza and annexation plans in the West Bank will only create more violence, instability, and human suffering in the Middle East. Just as these plans threaten Palestinian, Egyptian, and Arab interests, they also will not guarantee Israel’s security in the medium or long term. They also threaten US alliances and friendships with Arab countries.
While the United States continues to be the most powerful superpower in the region, protecting American interests requires good relations with partners such as Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The US bias towards the criminal plans of the Israeli far-right is undermining exactly this.
* The author is a political scientist and former MP. He is currently director of the Middle East Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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