Cairo Archives - CrossFireArarbia

Cairo Confirms 4 March For Gaza Rebuild Summit

CrossFireArabia
February 18, 2025

Egypt confirmed on Tuesday that it will host an emergency Arab summit on March 4 to discuss plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing its Palestinian inhabitants.

The summit was originally scheduled to be held on Feb. 27, but was postponed to March 4 “to complete logistical preparations,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the new date was set in coordination with Bahrain, the current chair of the Arab League, and in consultation with Arab countries according to Anadolu.

The summit follows a proposal by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and resettle its Palestinian inhabitants to develop it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confirmed that his country is preparing a “comprehensive” plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians.

Trump’s plan for Palestinian resettlement has been rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

The controversial idea came amid the ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

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Saudi Arabia Holds 5-Nation Summit For Gaza

CrossFireArabia
February 17, 2025

Saudi Arabia is set to host a five-nation Arab meeting on 20 February to discuss an Egyptian-led proposal for rebuilding the Gaza Strip while ensuring that its Palestinian residents are not displaced, an Arab League official announced.

The meeting will bring together officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Hossam Zaki, the Arab League’s assistant secretary-general.

In a televised statement, Zaki noted that Palestine may also be invited to take part in the discussions, which aim to establish a framework for the reconstruction initiative ahead of an upcoming Arab summit according to The Palestine Chronicle.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vcly18dvil4%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Egypt has scheduled an emergency Arab summit for 27 February, following the controversial proposal by former US President Donald Trump to take control of Gaza and forcibly resettle its Palestinian population.

Trump claimed his plan would turn the devastated enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” a proposal widely condemned as ethnic cleansing.

“The countries participating in the upcoming meeting seek to coordinate their positions regarding the Egyptian proposals that will be presented at the Arab summit,” Zaki stated.

He added that the summit could be postponed for logistical reasons to ensure maximum participation from Arab leaders.

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-is-threat-to-all-arab-nations-ramzy-baroud-speaks-to-egypts-al-dostour/embed/#?secret=mqxlQ55DlN#?secret=ZpysDELW92

According to Zaki, the summit will aim to unify the Arab stance on Palestine, firmly reject displacement schemes initiated by Israel and backed by the US, and put forward a collective Arab counterproposal to Trump’s plan.

On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi confirmed that Cairo is working on a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza, emphasizing that the initiative would not involve the forced relocation of Palestinians.

The discussions come in the wake of a ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on 19 January, ending months of Israeli attacks that killed and wounded over 160,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—and left much of the enclave in ruins.

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Israel Ready For 2nd Phase Negotiation in Cairo

CrossFireArabia
February 16, 2025

Israel’s Security Cabinet will discuss the second phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas, when the negotiating delegation travels to the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Monday.

Israel delayed negotiations for the second phase, which was scheduled to begin 16 days after the agreement went into effect, as Monday will be the 29th day—a 13-day delay.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday that he informed US Middle East envoy Steve Whitcoff during a phone call that the Security Cabinet will convene Monday to discuss the second phase of the deal.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after Whitcoff said “productive and constructive” discussions had taken place regarding the second phase, despite Netanyahu’s denial of any ongoing negotiations as reported by Anadolu.

“In coordination with Witkoff, Netanyahu has, today, instructed the negotiations team to leave for Cairo tomorrow (Monday) in order to discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal,” the statement added.

The delegation will receive guidance on the second phase after the Security Cabinet meeting, it added.

The announcement comes as Netanyahu faces mounting domestic and international pressure to move forward with the talks.

On Saturday, families of Israeli captives in Gaza held a press conference outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, vowing not to let Netanyahu obstruct the second phase for his political interests.

According to Palestinian human rights organizations, Israel is holding more than 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons.

A ceasefire agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Nineteen Israeli captives and five Thai workers have been released in exchange for 1,135 Palestinian prisoners under the first phase of the Gaza agreement, which took effect on Jan. 19.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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Cairo Says No To Trump!

CrossFireArabia
February 5, 2025

Egypt refuses to accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump, US officials told the White House in recent days, according to Middle East Eye (MEE). Cairo has made it clear that it will not bow to financial incentives or political coercion.

Trump has also claimed that Jordan would take in Palestinians ahead of King Abdullah II’s visit to Washington next week. His administration’s push for forced displacement has sparked tensions with US diplomats in the region, who warned that the plan could destabilize Egypt, a key American ally.

A senior US diplomat told MEE that the White House remains “tone-deaf” to regional assessments and continues to push for the mass expulsion of Palestinians. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the issue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, but Egypt remains firm in its refusal.

Trump reiterated his stance before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling Gaza a “pure demolition site.” He suggested relocating Palestinians to other countries, saying, “If we could find the right piece of land and build them some really nice places, that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza.”

Trump initially suggested that Egypt could take in refugees temporarily, but Witkoff later dismissed the idea, calling it “preposterous” to suggest that Palestinians could return after five years.

Israel has openly pushed for Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees since its genocide in Gaza began. Egyptian officials previously called this a “red line,” but the Trump administration’s support for the plan has emboldened Israeli leaders.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi condemned the proposal, calling it “an injustice that we cannot take part in.” Egyptian diplomats fear Trump may use military aid as leverage. Cairo receives $1.3 billion annually in US security assistance and is preparing for potential cuts.

Egypt’s security services organized rare protests at the Rafah border crossing last week, signaling strong opposition to Trump’s demands. An Egyptian official told MEE that the government may also allow protests outside the US embassy in Cairo.

Despite Sisi’s iron-fisted rule, he claimed last week that “if I were to ask this of the Egyptian people, all of them would take to the streets to say ‘no,’” according to the Quds News Network.

Features

Cairo Plans to Rebuild Gaza Without Displacing Palestinians

CrossFireArabia
February 2, 2025

Egypt said Sunday that it has a “clear vision” regarding the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians from the territory.

“The Egyptian efforts regarding Gaza are ongoing and will not stop with regard to implementing the specific requirements of the ceasefire agreement in its three stages,” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told a news conference in Cairo with his Djiboutian counterpart Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

“We have a clear vision for rebuilding the Gaza Strip without any citizen leaving his land,” he added.

Trump suggested last weekend that Palestinians in Gaza should be relocated to Egypt and Jordan, calling the enclave a “demolition site” after Israel’s war. His proposal, however, was vehemently rejected by Cairo and Amman.

A six-nation Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday firmly rejected Palestinian displacement from Gaza and renewed calls for implementing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump’s proposal came after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 47,500 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

Red Sea

The top Egyptian diplomat said there is no justification for military escalation in the Red Sea after the Gaza ceasefire.

“We stress the need to enhance the security of the Red Sea and freedom of maritime navigation, and we reject any military presence of any country that does not border the Red Sea,” he added.

Tension has begun to ease in the Red Sea after the Gaza ceasefire deal. During the Gaza war, Yemen’s Houthi group carried out drone and missile attacks on Israeli cargo ships or ones linked with Tel Aviv in the Red Sea in a show of support for the Palestinian enclave.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met early Sunday with the Djiboutian foreign minister to discuss bilateral cooperation and the latest developments in Somalia and the Red Sea region, the presidency said in a statement.

Tension escalated between Ethiopia and Somalia originated in January 2024, when Addis Ababa signed an agreement with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland to use the Red Sea port of Berbera. Since then, Türkiye has actively mediated to ease tensions between the two nations.

Egypt and Ethiopia are already locked in a decade-long dispute over the construction of a dam project on the Nile River, which Cairo fears will drastically reduce its share from the Nile water. Ethiopia says that the dam is vital for its development process according to Anadolu.