Washington, February 5: The White House is pushing for Egypt to take in Palestinians from Gaza, despite repeated warnings from U.S. diplomats that Cairo will not be swayed by financial incentives and that such a move could destabilize a key regional ally.
According to U.S. officials stationed in the region, the Biden administration remains intent on relocating Palestinians, despite strong resistance from Egypt and Jordan. The proposal has sparked tensions between President Joe Biden’s close advisers and career diplomats, who have conveyed Arab officials’ concerns to Washington.
The issue is expected to take center stage as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Biden on Tuesday. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the matter in a phone call with Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, sources told Middle East Eye (MEE).
The notion of forcibly relocating Palestinians outside of Gaza has been widely criticized as a form of ethnic cleansing and could potentially violate international law. One mid-level U.S. diplomat working on the issue described the White House as “tone-deaf” to the assessments provided by its own diplomatic corps.
“Pure Demolition Site”
Ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu, President Biden described Gaza as a “demolition site” and suggested that moving Palestinians elsewhere and providing them with “really nice places” would be preferable to allowing them to return.
“It’s a pure demolition site. If we could find the right piece of land and build them some really nice places, I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza,” Biden said.
His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, reinforced the administration’s position, stating that relocating Palestinians had become a “big issue” and dismissing earlier claims that such a move would be temporary. “It is unfair to tell Palestinians they might be back in five years. That’s just preposterous,” he said.
Israel has openly advocated for Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees, aligning with the U.S. push for resettlement. However, Cairo has consistently rejected any such proposal, emphasizing that it would not undermine Palestinian claims to their land or risk its own national security.
The growing rift between the White House and U.S. diplomats underscores the deepening complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict and Washington’s approach to the crisis.
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