North Sinai governorate announces residential buildings ready for Palestinians
Major General Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha, Governor of North Sinai, said that the governorate has prepared residential flats for Palestinians stranded in the city of Arish since the start of the war on Gaza, in the Al-Sabil area west of Arish, and has allocated entire buildings for them in the Al-Sabil area.
The Governor of North Sinai explained in a statement today that the residential buildings were set up in cooperation with the Egyptian Red Crescent and Social Solidarity, so that those stranded would not have to stay in hotels whose prices may be high, especially as their situation may not allow it, noting that the flats have been equipped with good furniture and full means of subsistence, including water and food, in addition to the provision of full medical services where they are or through examinations at Arish General Hospital or health units.
The Social Solidarity Directorate in North Sinai provided subsistence supplies, including 140 mattresses, pillows, food and personal hygiene bags, to equip the flats to house those stranded, and the governor also decided to set up a kitchen to prepare meals in the same place.
He pointed to the support of Dr Nevine El-Kabbag, Minister of Social Solidarity, to North Sinai governorate with EGP 12 million to be spent on those stranded and on any needs of the governorate in this crisis and other forms of assistance within North Sinai.
As part of preparing two buildings in Al-Sabil in Arish, volunteers from civil society organisations from outside and inside the governorate began rehabilitating the flats.
The number of Palestinians stranded in the city of Arish exceeds 300 people, spread across Sheikh Zuweid and Arish.
Sisi’s Rejection of the Displacement of Palestinians
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi affirmed at the end of October that his country has not allowed and will not allow the displacement of Palestinians from their land to its territory, during a call he received from his US counterpart Joe Biden, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.
Since the start of the events in Gaza, the Egyptian authorities have repeatedly rejected the plan to displace the people of Gaza to Egyptian territory, specifically Sinai, which borders the Strip, coinciding with official Israeli calls for them to flee.
Israeli Efforts
Recently, Egyptians have feared “Israel’s efforts to displace the people of Gaza to Egyptian Sinai”, after gradually pushing them to evacuate the residential neighbourhoods in the north towards the south as an initial stage.
The Israeli side has not explicitly announced its intention to transfer Palestinians to Sinai, but the first to raise this issue was the army spokesperson, Richard Hecht, when he said days after the start of the war: “The Rafah crossing is still open, and I advise anyone who can get out to do so.”
This statement aroused the apprehension of the Egyptian side, which read it as a prelude to and confirmation of Israeli intentions in this regard, prompting it to issue warnings against any scenario involving the displacement of the people of Gaza to Egyptian territory.
