El-Sisi rules out Palestinian displacement, pushes for Gaza deal implementation
Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has drawn a firm line against any plan to displace Palestinians, vowing that Cairo will continue to work with mediators to ensure the Gaza ceasefire agreement is fully implemented and the war brought to an end.
Meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Wednesday, El-Sisi said all parties must stick to the October 10 truce, halt further escalation, allow humanitarian aid to flow without obstruction and lay the groundwork for Gaza’s early recovery and reconstruction, according to the Egyptian presidency.
The comments came as top Israeli ministers renewed pressure for Palestinians to leave Gaza. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said it was “only a matter of time” before Israel resumed full-scale operations in the enclave to “finish the job” and pressed ahead with proposals to encourage the emigration of its two million residents. Earlier this month, Katz said Israel was prepared to facilitate departures by sea, air and other routes, pending US support, calling the move voluntary and asserting that 80 per cent of Gazans wished to leave. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar later said the government had no plans to deport Palestinians from Gaza.
Egypt, which borders Gaza, has repeatedly rejected any scheme to shift Palestinians from either the enclave or the occupied West Bank, warning that such moves would amount to “liquidating” the Palestinian cause and wrecking chances of an independent state.
During the talks, Abbas commended Egypt’s “steadfast” support for the Palestinian cause. Cairo, together with Qatar, Turkiye and the US, helped broker the October 2025 deal that ended two years of war in Gaza, though implementation has stumbled over disputes on Hamas’ disarmament and the pullout of Israeli forces.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli strikes on Gaza have continued, leaving 1,375 Palestinians dead and 4,686 others injured, Palestinian authorities said.
El-Sisi reaffirmed Egypt’s backing for the Palestinian Authority and for efforts to unify Palestinian factions. Abbas updated him on Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank, including accelerated settlement building and expansion, surging settler violence, home demolitions and land grabs. He warned that the E1 settlement project, which would cut East Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank, would “undermine the remaining prospects for achieving the two-state solution and establishing the State of Palestine on the ground,” the Palestinian News Agency reported.
El-Sisi condemned what he described as Israeli violations against Palestinians and reiterated Cairo’s support for an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He said the Palestinian issue would remain at the heart of regional politics until a “just and comprehensive” settlement was achieved, calling a Palestinian state the only path to durable peace and stability in the Middle East.
The two leaders agreed to deepen political coordination and consultations on developments in the Palestinian territories and the wider region.
In a separate meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy, Abbas called for stronger Arab and international backing to resist Palestinian displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. He also urged support for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and renewed calls for an end to the Israeli occupation and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.