If Egypt supports Gazans, it should offer them temporary housing

Excerpt

As Israel ramps up its fight against Hamas in Gaza, life is going to become increasingly intolerable for innocent Palestinian civilians in the Strip. Now is the time for Egypt — alongside Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — to put action behind its words about caring for Gazans. 

The Egyptian government should permit these displaced civilians to leave Gaza and move to temporary housing in northern Sinai. The two rich Gulf states should pay for them. In exchange, Israel could commit that it will allow Palestinians to go back to Gaza after the Israel Defense Forces destroys Hamas.

Egypt has not been receptive to the idea of hosting displaced Palestinian civilians. President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi warned that allowing Palestinian civilians into Egypt would open the door for militants to launch future attacks against the Jewish state from Sinai. That’s why from the very beginning of Israel’s airstrikes on the Strip, Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid were deployed to the Gaza border, security forces intensified their presence and the Al-Azhar institution, alongside pro-state media, called on the Palestinian people not to leave Gaza, arguing they wouldn’t be able to return.

Haisam Hassanein is an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he’s analyzing Israel’s relations with Arab states and Muslim countries.