Netanyahu accuses Egypt of imprisoning Gazans ‘against their will’ in growing war of words

In a growing war of words between Israel and Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Cairo of “imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone.”

The statement comes in the wake of Egyptian anger over Netanyahu saying in an interview with the Abu Ali Express channel that he would allow Gazans to leave through the Rafah Crossing, but “they would be blocked by Egypt.”

In response, Egypt’s foreign ministry expressed its “utmost condemnation” of Netanyahu’s statement, and called it “part of his continuous attempts to prolong the period of escalation in the region and entrench instability to avoid confronting the consequences of Israeli violations in Gaza, both internally and externally.”

“Displacement is not an option and it is a red line for Egypt and we will not allow it to happen,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters earlier on Friday in Nicosia.

“Displacement means liquidation and the end of the Palestinian cause and there is no legal or moral or ethical ground to evict people from their homeland,” he said. He also repeated Egypt’s accusation that Israel is committing genocide, a charge Israel adamantly rejects.

Egypt is bolstering its forces along its shared border with Gaza ahead of the IDF’s offensive to capture Gaza City, due to concerns that the mass evacuation of Palestinians from the north of the Gaza Strip could lead to an attempt to flee into the Sinai.

Egypt closed its border with Gaza after Israel captured the Rafah crossing, which it controls. Following the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Egypt constructed a concrete border wall that reaches six meters into the ground and is topped with barbed wire. It has also built berms and enhanced surveillance at border posts, security sources said.