Egypt has firmly denied reports claiming it would temporarily relocate 500,000 Palestinians from Gaza to North Sinai as part of a proposed plan linked to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision for the Gaza Strip.
In an official statement on Friday, Egypt’s State Information Service dismissed the allegations as “completely false” and “contrary to Egypt’s unwavering position” of rejecting any form of Palestinian displacement, whether forced or voluntary.
The denial follows a report by Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper — widely circulated in Israeli media — which claimed that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had shown willingness during recent meetings with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to absorb Gazans.
Cairo reiterated that its stance remains aligned with the plan presented at the recent Arab emergency summit in Cairo, which focuses on Gaza’s reconstruction without displacing any of its residents.
President Sisi has repeatedly rejected suggestions — including those allegedly proposed under Trump’s plan — that Egypt or Jordan could permanently absorb Palestinian refugees, a move critics say would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Earlier this month, Egypt proposed the formation of an independent technocratic committee to administer Gaza for six months, followed by transferring control to the Palestinian Authority. The plan, which excludes any mention of Hamas, envisions resolving the status of Gaza’s armed groups through a political process aimed at establishing a Palestinian state.
Both Israel and the U.S. have rejected Egypt’s proposal, while Israeli forces continued their bombardment of Gaza, killing hundreds in recent days.
Despite Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, the issue of Palestinian displacement remains highly sensitive domestically, with strong public support for the Palestinian cause.