– We are concerned that accepting Palestinian refugees will destroy the possibility of a Palestinian state, says the Egyptian ambassador Amr Ramadan to news. Egypt is, apart from Israel, the only country that borders Gaza. The border is controlled by Hamas, Egypt and Israel. Almost no one gets in and out. After the start of the war, Egypt has accepted a few badly injured Palestinians, but no refugees. The ambassador believes that it is important that Palestinians do not leave Gaza, so that they can one day have their own state. – We are working to create a state for Palestinians on their own land, says Ramadan. TWO-STATE SOLUTION – We are concerned that by accepting Palestinian refugees we are destroying the possibility that they can get their own country, says the Egyptian ambassador Amr Ramadan to news. Photo: Haakon Laastad / news In this case you can read about: The creation of the state of Israel has led to several Palestinian mass emigrations. In 1948, 700,000 Palestinians fled from areas that became part of the State of Israel. Many went to the Gaza Strip. The Six Day War in 1967 also led to a mass flight of Palestinians. Those who have left may not return to Israel. That is why millions of Palestinians still live in camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. They are children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who fled when Israel was formed. Children and grandchildren of Palestinian refugees live in camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. Photo: Mohammed Dahman / AP According to figures from UNRWA, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, 1.6 million people have fled their homes in Gaza after 7 October. They live in refugee camps in the south of Gaza. They are called internally displaced persons. – If Egypt had open borders, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would have flowed out to Rafah. They live in a life-threatening situation in Gaza, says professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Oslo Jacob Høigilt. Middle East researcher Jacob Høigilt says Egypt has the right to be for what lies behind Israel’s tactics now, is to empty Gaza of Palestinians. Photo: Zofia Paszkiewicz / news People who have lost their homes in northern Gaza will probably not be able to return, even when the war is over, says the researcher. – I don’t know what Israel will do when the war is over and they have crushed Hamas. But there are several who speculate that they want to turn northern Gaza into a buffer zone, a “no man’s land”. Besides Israel, Egypt is the only country that borders Gaza. The border is controlled by Hamas, Egypt and Israel. Almost no one gets in and out. Egypt does not want to be a tool in Israel’s expansion plan, says Høigilt. – Egypt has good reasons to be afraid that what lies behind Israel’s tactics is to empty Gaza of Palestinians, elaborates the researcher. Israel’s plans for Gaza after the war have emerged in recent weeks. – Gaza must be smaller when this war ends. They must lose territory both in the east and in the north, said Gideo Sa’ar. SHRINKING GAZA – That is the price the Arabs have to pay so that they understand that whoever starts a war against Israel loses land, said Gideon Sa’ar to the Israeli Channel 12 News. Photo: Tsafrir Abayov / AP Sa’ar sits in Israel’s security cabinet and is a former minister for the Likud party. – That is the price the Arabs have to pay. They must understand that whoever starts a war against Israel loses ground, he told the Israeli Channel 12 News. In October, a report was leaked from one of Israel’s ministries. The report was reproduced in several Israeli media. It is proposed that the entire population of Gaza should be moved to Sinai in Egypt. For this, Israel must ask for international support. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office has confirmed that such a document exists, but also writes that the plan is one of several possible scenarios. Israel’s close ally the United States does not support the plan to move all Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt. On X, President Biden wrote that he has been in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Biden assured him that “we will make sure that Palestinians in Gaza will not be transferred to Egypt or any other country” I spoke with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to share my gratitude that Egypt is taking care of the emergency aid to Gaza.. .We assured that Palestinians in Gaza will not be relocated to Egypt or any other country. Today, 2 million Palestinian citizens live in Jordan, 490,000 in Lebanon. Children and grandchildren of those who fled in 1948 still live in refugee camps. They hope to return to a future Palestinian state. The Egyptian ambassador says that Egypt does not want to repeat the history of Lebanon. – There are 2.2 million people in Gaza. There are many people. We do the best we can by accepting refugees. But people in Gaza would rather live in their own country, says Ramadan. Neither Jordan nor Lebanon wants to accept Palestinians now. King Abdullah of Jordan has said that no Palestinian refugees will be allowed into Jordan. – No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt. That’s the limit. I think there is a plan where refugees are used to create new facts on the ground, said the Jordanian king at a press conference in October. The many Palestinian refugees have been a problem for Israel’s two poor neighboring countries. – Neither Jordan nor Lebanon have managed to welcome Palestinians in a good way. They do not have passports or rights like other Lebanese. These countries have more than enough other problems to think about already. It is unreasonable to demand that they accept Palestinian refugees, says Høigilt. Palestinian Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood have ideological ties and many common interests. Photo: MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY / Reuters Although they do not have the right to vote, the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have changed the political landscape in the country. Gaza is controlled by Hamas and many of the country’s residents support this group. Egypt fears that opening the borders could lead to Hamas establishing itself in Egypt. – It is a concern that fanatical and armed groups will settle on our soil and start operating from Egypt, says Egypt’s ambassador to Norway. Hamas is an Islamist resistance group that emerged from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is also a political party that has been opposed by most Egyptian governments, including the current one. – The Egyptian regime has nothing left for Islamists such as Hamas. They are seen as a security threat, says Jakob Høigilt. The Muslim Brotherhood won the election in 2012. A year later, General Al-Sisi took power in a coup d’état. He is still the country’s president. Hear more about the war in Gaza here:
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This is why the neighboring countries will not help Palestinian refugees – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
