Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has rejected any plans for Palestinian displacement, following comments by IsraelâÂÂs defence minister saying the army would âÂÂfinish the jobâ in Gaza.
Speaking during a visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, el-Sisi stressed âÂÂEgyptâÂÂs firm stance against the displacement of the Palestinian people or any attempt to annihilate the Palestinian causeâÂÂ, the Wafa news agency reported.
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Abbas praised EgyptâÂÂs steadfastness in defending Palestinian rights and reiterated that âÂÂGaza is an integral part of our state.âÂÂ
The Egyptian leaderâÂÂs comments came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army would âÂÂfinish the jobâ in Gaza, âÂÂso that we can also implement the migration plan.âÂÂ
Katz said earlier this month that Israel was ready to remove Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land, but was waiting for the United States, which he said was discussing where the two million people would go.
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee has denied any plan to âÂÂdisplace people out of Gaza against their willâÂÂ. In February, Huckabee explicitly said he âÂÂwould be fineâ if Israel took most of the Middle East in accordance with his interpretation of the Bible, but then suggested the remark was selectively edited.
Nearly all of GazaâÂÂs population has been internally displaced, and most of the territory lies in rubble after three years of a war that has killed more than 73,700 Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the army would not withdraw from the Gaza Strip, despite a US-backed ceasefire plan that came into effect in October stipulating it as a condition.
Netanyahu claimed Israel controls 60 percent of the Palestinian enclave and promised not to pull back until Hezbollah is disarmed.
His government has been pushing for more Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory in the West Bank, including through a controversial settlement project dubbed E1 designed to construct thousands of housing units between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement.
Israeli human rights group BâÂÂTselem warned this week that Israel is executing a systematic and accelerated campaign to dismantle âÂÂPalestinian collective lifeâ and establish permanent Jewish-Israeli sovereignty across the occupied West Bank.