Washington- Despite the US administration confirming on several occasions, and through a number of its highest officials, its categorical rejection of any attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinians of Gaza to Egyptian territory, President Joe Biden confirmed during a speech on the occasion of the Jewish Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) at the White House the day before yesterday, his request from Egyptian President Abdul Al-Fattah Al-Sisi ensured that “the gate for them to enter Egypt” was opened.
Biden’s statement came as part of his speech to the guests who attended the celebration of the Jewish occasion in the East Room of the White House, where Biden began his speech with Doug Emhoff, the Jewish husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, next to him, thanking the rabbis participating in the celebration, and appreciating their blessing of the White House.
In the context of presenting his efforts to support Israel’s military effort and the release of hostages and prisoners held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Biden enumerated what he had done to support Israel, amid applause and praise from those present.
Open the gate
He said, “We are working tirelessly for the safe return of the hostages. I have personally spent countless hours – and I mean that, perhaps up to 20 hours – with the Qataris, Egyptians and Israelis to secure the freedom of the hostages, get the trucks in, get humanitarian aid flowing, convince them to open the gate, and make Sisi… It guarantees the opening of the gate to Egypt.”
As the Israeli aggression on Gaza continues and the humanitarian situation there worsens, there are repeated calls in some American circles for the Egyptian government to allow the entry of large numbers of Palestinian refugees into North Sinai.
The eyes of observers in Washington are directed to the Rafah crossing, as it is the only way out by land, but the Egyptian government strongly rejects the idea of accepting the influx of refugees, even temporarily, because it fears that this will lead to their permanent settlement, as happened with some Palestinians living in refugee camps in Other areas for decades.
During his visit to Cairo on October 15, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tried to reassure Egypt by saying that the United States does not support the mass deportation of Gaza residents to Egypt.
“We also want to make sure they are out of harm’s way and that they get the help they need,” he stressed.
The Biden administration is asking Congress to appropriate $106 billion to deal with “the global humanitarian impacts of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel, including providing humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” as she put it.
The financial appropriation request included a special section entitled “Immigration and Asylum Aid,” in which Biden requested an additional amount of $3.495 billion, to remain available for spending to meet humanitarian needs.
The request indicated that these amounts would be placed in the account of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Administration (MRI) within the Ministry of State, and that these resources would “support displaced civilians and those affected by the conflict, including Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, and meet the potential needs of the population.” Gaza fleeing to neighboring countries.
This ambiguous language left the door open for some to see it as an American willingness to provide financial resources that reflect plans to displace and resettle Gaza residents outside the Strip.
Forced deportation
For its part, Democracy for the Arab World Now warned the Biden administration regarding its request from Congress to approve $14 billion in funding for Israel, considering that this payment contains language indicating support for the idea of forced transfer of Palestinians from Gaza.
The organization urged Congress to reject the supplemental funding bill, which proposes to fund humanitarian aid for Palestinians displaced from Gaza to neighboring countries.
The White House reaffirmed during the Manama Security Forum last month, through Brett McGurk, coordinator for Middle East and North Africa affairs at the National Security Council, the White House’s vision for the Gaza crisis, which included rejecting any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
However, at the same time, many members of the Senate and Representatives, in addition to a number of newspaper editorials, do not stop pointing out the need for the Egyptian government to assume its responsibilities and open its lands to the Palestinians in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, without pointing out that the continuation of the Israeli aggression The sector is the cause of this unprecedented human suffering.
