Cairo [Egypt], September 6: Egypt on Friday condemned remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting Palestinians could be displaced from their land, including through the Rafah crossing on the Gaza border.
The Foreign Ministry accused Netanyahu of seeking to prolong the conflict to avoid accountability for Israel's actions in Gaza, and reiterated Cairo's rejection of any plan to expel Palestinians.
The targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is forcing Palestinians to leave, the ministry said, calling such practices a violation of international humanitarian law that could amount to "ethnic cleansing." It urged the international community to hold those responsible to account.
Egypt said it would not be complicit in "liquidating the Palestinian cause or becoming a gateway for displacement," describing that as a "red line." It called for a ceasefire in Gaza, a full Israeli withdrawal, and international backing for the Palestinian Authority to return to the territory, including control of border crossings.
The ministry said the Rafah crossing should be re-operated under the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access, and pressed the UN Security Council to protect Palestinians and support their right to remain in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
It also stressed that only the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital could resolve the conflict.
Netanyahu told the Telegram channel Abu Ali Express on Thursday that Egypt was "imprisoning" Gaza residents who wanted to leave, saying Israel would permit them to cross at Rafah but Egypt was blocking them.
Since the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people and led to about 250 hostages being taken, Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians and wounded 161,000, according to Gaza health authorities.
Source: Xinhua
