Egypt privately warning Trump’s Gaza plan endangers peace treaty with Israel — sources

Egypt has launched a behind-the-scenes diplomatic blitz to try and head off US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the mass relocation of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt has warned that such a plan could undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and American influence in the Middle East for decades.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has not publicly responded to Trump’s stunning proposal that most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians be relocated and the United States take charge of rebuilding the territory.

But two Egyptian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, say Cairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.

They say the message has been delivered to the Pentagon, the State Department and members of the US Congress, as well as Israel’s Western European allies, including Britain, France and Germany.

A Western diplomat in Cairo, also speaking anonymously because the discussions have not been made public, confirms receiving the message from Egypt through multiple channels. The diplomat says Egypt views the plan as a threat to its national security.

The diplomat says Egypt rejected proposals from the Biden administration and European countries to take in some Gazan refugees early in the war, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel. The earlier proposals were broached privately, while Trump announced his plan Tuesday at a White House press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.