US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle Gazans due to the destruction of the war has been rejected by Egypt, which says it is an attempt to “displace” the Gazans. Many other Arab states feel the same way.
Egypt is in a precarious position, however, because its leadership doesn’t know how best to channel this discussion.
It appears Cairo is encouraging demonstrations and public anger about this as a way to let off steam. This is how Egypt has played both sides since the Israel-Hamas War began.
Egypt did not condemn the Hamas attack and has not been forthcoming about how it was planned. Cairo says it never learned about the plans. If it did, it did not share all it knew.
The Egyptian street’s reaction has been choreographed by Cairo.
“In light of US President Donald Trump’s insistence on displacing the residents of Gaza and transferring a number of them to Egyptian territory, the margins of disagreements in Cairo have disappeared in order to formulate a coherent text entitled ‘Supporting the Strip,’” UAE-based Al Ain news site reported. “The Gaza issue has surfaced in the public sphere in Egypt, amid praise from civil society and major professional unions for the political performance of the Egyptian authorities towards the American proposal.”
Egypt and Jordan react
Egypt now “warns against endangering peace [as it] prepares to present a Gaza reconstruction plan,” the report said. “The American proposal was met with a decisive Egyptian and Jordanian rejection, and Cairo pledged to announce an Arab plan for reconstruction in Gaza without displacing the Palestinians.”
Media reports have been misleading about what happened.
“The war that Israel launched on Hamas in October 2023 led to unprecedented destruction in the Strip,” Al Ain reported.
In truth, Hamas started the war.
“In Cairo, the Journalists Syndicate took practical steps, including visiting the US Embassy, organizing support convoys to Gaza, and strengthening cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists,” the report said.
In addition, the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate launched a strategic plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, which ensures that Palestinians are not displaced, Al Ain reported.
Civil society groups signed a document called the “Cairo Document to Reject Displacement,” the report said.
This is all clearly coming from the top in Cairo. Egypt is also facilitating the movement of heavy machinery to Gaza to clear rubble.
The “union had taken practical steps, including heading to the US embassy to express its clear rejection of the positions related to the Palestinian issue, in addition to launching a set of measures that resulted in partial responses related to steps supporting journalistic work,” Khaled Al-Balshy, head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, told Al Ain.
Egypt does not have a free media, so this represents the government’s approach.
“Each union was also given the opportunity to coordinate to implement its role according to its various specializations, whether in the medical fields through the Doctors’ Syndicate or the engineering fields through the Engineers’ Syndicate,” the report said.
Tarek El-Nabrawy, head of the Engineers Syndicate, said the syndicate had quickly begun supporting Egyptian efforts to reject the displacement of Palestinians.
“He added that the next session, within the next few days, will include plans for the city’s buildings, constructions and infrastructure, noting that once the necessary funding is secured, the city’s reconstruction period, using the latest construction methods, will not exceed three to five years without displacing citizens,” Al Ain reported.
In essence, this is also a response to Trump’s plan, which means the US president has succeeded in beating the grass and stirring this up.