Egypt rejects managing security in post-war Gaza: Senior Egyptian officials
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi rejected a proposal for Egypt to manage security in Gaza until the Palestinian Authority (PA) can take over after the end of the war, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing senior Egyptian officials.
The proposal came from US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns during a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday with El-Sisi and Abbas Kamel, head of Egyptian intelligence, according to the New York-based newspaper.
El-Sisi asserted that the Egyptian government “wouldn’t play a role in eliminating Hamas as it needs the militant group to help maintain security at the country’s border with the Gaza Strip,” the officials added.
Furthermore, El-Sisi confirmed Egypt's rejection of an “Israeli presence” in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian sources said according to a Sky News Arabia correspondent on Thursday, adding that Cairo has also rejected any presence of NATO or any foreign forces inside the strip "under any guise."
El-Sisi also reiterated that Cairo sees no settlement for the Palestinian cause but the two-state solution, the sources added.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel will manage security in Gaza for an "indefinite period," prompting concerns about an Israeli reoccupation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel not to occupy post-war Gaza but later modified his stance on Wednesday suggesting an Israeli-run "transition period."
Photographers captured scenes of thousands of Palestinians fleeing Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza on foot in an eerie scene parallel to the 1948 Nakba.
More than 1.5 million people have been displaced in Gaza since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry also said that the death toll due to Israeli bombardment of the strip has reached 10,560 people, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women; over 25,000 have been wounded.
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