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Joe Biden- Sisi talk. Agenda: Palestinians in Gaza should not displace to Egypt
Israel-Hamas War: Joe Biden said he spoke with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the two reaffirmed their “commitment to work together.
Palestinians in Gaza shouldn’t be displaced to Egypt or some other country, US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart said, as Israel presses ahead with an offensive that’s forced many in the enclave to flee their homes.
Biden said he spoke with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the two reaffirmed their “commitment to work together and discussed the importance of protecting civilian lives, respect for international humanitarian law, and ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation,” according to a post on the American president’s X account.
Sisi, whose country offers the only non-Israeli border crossing with Gaza, has repeatedly rejected the idea that Gaza’s Palestinians be allowed to cross — even temporarily — into the Sinai Peninsula, as Israel drives deeper into Gaza in an offensive that’s drawn broad condemnation in the region.
Read more: Israel's military forces in Gaza 'gradually moving ahead with plan'
Other Arab countries and international organizations have also rejected the possibility of a relocation, putting the emphasis instead on how to reach a lasting peace built around a two-state solution.
Egypt “has not and will not allow the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to Egyptian territories,” El-Sisi said, according to a statement released late Sunday by the presidency.
While the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates his country has emerged as a key player in trying to end the fighting between Israel and the militant group Hamas, which the US designates a terrorist organization.
A minuscule fraction of the aid necessary to sustain the 2.3 million residents of Gaza is reaching them through the Rafah border crossing. Egypt has blamed Israel for impeding its entry, with the United Nations and other organizations warning of the growing humanitarian disaster in the territory as a result of Israel’s siege.
