Sisi held an emergency summit in Cairo earlier this month to discuss his plan for Gaza [Egyptian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty]
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has instructed institutions in the country to be on high alert amid growing concerns over Gaza’s future and its dangerous impact on Egypt’s national security, The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Friday.
Sisi and his government are under mounting pressure after US President Donald Trump made a shock proposal earlier this year suggesting forcibly displacing the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants and moving them to Egypt and Jordan.
While Trump has seemed to have backtracked on his controversial proposal saying “nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza,” questions about where things are headed in war-torn Gaza continue to be a major source of concern for neighbouring countries.
Cairo has refused the proposal and has presented a counterplan, which would see Gaza reconstructed in phases and a political solution to who would govern the enclave.
Trump and Israel have rejected the proposal.
In light of these challenges, Sisi has directed key security agencies, including Egypt’s General Intelligence Service and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, to devise a comprehensive plan to address the crisis, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed report.
The directives include boosting security along Egypt’s border with Gaza, particularly Rafah, the only border crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian territory.
The border area is known as the Philadelphi Corridor, where Israel has maintained forces since May 2024 and refuses to leave despite the ceasefire deal.
Directives also included raising the level of security coordination with the Israeli side to control any movements that could pose a threat to the Egyptian border.
During a meeting of the parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee last Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty stressed that his country was currently facing unprecedented challenges that threaten its national security and internal stability.
On the escalating crisis in Gaza, reeling under Israel’s 15-month war and now without access to humanitarian aid due to an Israeli siege, Abdel Aty said Egypt will not allow any plan that seeks to “end the Palestinian cause”, stressing that this was a “red line” for Cairo.
Egyptian authorities also fear that a security vacuum in Gaza could lead to the rise of extremist groups which could in turn negatively impact Sinai’s stability,Â
The Egyptian army battled an insurgency led by an offshoot of the Islamic State group in northern Sinai for years. It is believed to have led to thousands of deaths and the displacement of many of the region’s inhabitants.
Egypt is lobbying regional and global powers to push back against Trump’s plan and a possible relocation of Palestinians to Sinai.
While the US supports Egypt’s mediating role in Gaza, the disarmament of Palestinian factions is a major condition for Washington Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said.
Israel opposes any Egyptian move that might strengthen Hamas’s influence and insists on strict security guarantees before allowing any reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip.
As well as Gaza, Egypt faces more security concerns with neighbouring Libya, divided between a west and east government and ravaged by years of conflict since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 ousted Muammar Gaddafi, and to the south war-torn Sudan which has turned into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The ongoing war in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces threatens to spill over the Egyptian border, posing complex security and humanitarian challenges, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.
