Residents of Jemima village, located 11 kilometers from the city of Dabaa in Marsa Matrouh, were shocked when trucks and bulldozers arrived on their land last Monday, accompanied by a military security force. As villagers gathered to block the equipment’s advance, an officer fired live rounds, injuring 23-year-old Abdel Qader Safi Gaballah, known as “Qadoura Bosafi the Mute.” Abdel Qader was transported to Al-Hidaya Hospital in Alexandria, where he underwent surgeries and was transferred to the intensive care unit. According to Omar El-Abkam, a relative of the injured man, another young man sustained superficial leg injuries during the clashes.
Omar explained that the crisis began about a year ago when local authorities demanded residents vacate lands inherited from their ancestors, offering compensation for residential properties at EGP 100,000 for a 100-square-meter house and EGP 50,000 for an apartment. However, no compensation was offered for agricultural lands, which the residents use to cultivate figs, olives, barley, and wheat. Many villagers rely on these lands to meet their food needs and raise livestock. Omar also recounted previous security campaigns supported by military forces, including one during Ramadan, where warning shots were fired, and some villagers were detained until Eid al-Adha. Their release was reportedly conditional on surrendering their lands, a demand the villagers refused.
On February 29, 2017, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued Presidential Decree No. 101 of 2017, reallocating 14,596.35 feddans of state-owned land in the western Dabaa axis in Marsa Matrouh for the armed forces. Three years later, El-Sisi issued Presidential Decree No. 361 of 2020, reallocating 707,234.50 feddans in the northwest coast for the New Urban Communities Authority to establish new urban communities. Subsequently, in September 2020, then-Minister of Housing, Assem El-Gazzar, announced the acceptance of applications for settlement of building violations in these lands, urging residents to submit ownership documents at the temporary headquarters of the North West Coast Development Authority.
In January 2021, a Survey and Negotiation Committee was formed under Ministerial Decree No. 537 to oversee the North West Coast Development Project. The committee began replanning areas within the scope of Presidential Decree No. 361 of 2020, covering 707,000 feddans. It includes representatives from the Ministry of Housing, the Armed Forces, the Administrative Control Authority, Marsa Matrouh Governorate, the New Urban Communities Authority, the North West Coast Development Authority, the National Center for State Land Use Planning, the Central Auditing Organization, and the Department of Public Records and Microfilm at the Real Estate Registration and Documentation Authority.
Bargaining for Land
Hassan Farag (a pseudonym), a resident of Jemima village, recounts how he owned 300 feddans of farmland inherited from his ancestors, where they had cultivated figs and olives for hundreds of years. Of this land, 70 feddans had legal ownership documents dating back to the 1970s, while the rest was cultivated as “hand-held land”. His property also included ten houses. A few months ago, he was shocked when military forces arrived, took control of the entire 300 feddans, and informed him that the land now belonged to the armed forces. They promised to evaluate the 70 feddans for compensation.
However, Hassan highlights that the authorities do not offer fair compensation for crops and buildings. Residents receive only EGP 1,000 for each fruit-bearing olive or fig tree, some of which are decades old and yield crops worth around EGP 20,000 annually. For smaller, bulldozed trees, they are compensated EGP 300. Concrete buildings are valued at EGP 7,000 per square meter, while wooden houses are valued at EGP 5,000 per square meter.
Hassan tells Zawia3: “In 2022, survey engineers arrived in Jemima, claiming they were from the local government and that they were conducting measurements to plan new infrastructure like roads and electricity for the village. Three months later, we learned they were from the Armed Forces Engineering Authority. The land had been handed over to a Gulf investor, in partnership with the Engineering Authority and businessman Hisham Talaat Moustafa, for a massive tourism project called ‘South Med Egypt.’ We protested and met with the governor, who confirmed the military ownership and the investor’s plans. We demanded fair compensation for our land.”
Jemima village spans 5,540 feddans, containing over 700 houses and home to around 5,000 residents who have lived there for generations. According to Hassan, only 5% of residents surrendered their land, pressured by MPs and local tribal leaders loyal to the authorities. He adds: “I couldn’t stand up to the military; they took the land against my will, and I’ve yet to receive compensation. I don’t want to face arrest like others in our village did last Monday or during Ramadan, when four young men were detained in camps inside the Mohamed Naguib military base until the second day of Eid al-Adha.”
Second Displacement
Abdullah Mohamed’s family was among those displaced in 2003 when the government revived plans for the Dabaa Nuclear Plant, first proposed in 1981 under Presidential Decree No. 309, allocating 11,000 feddans for the project. At that time, his family received meager compensation and relocated to Jemima.
Between 2010 and 2011, the family obtained ownership contracts for the land they cultivated with figs and olives, building homes on it. However, in 2017, the land was reallocated to the military, and in June 2023, the village’s entire area was confiscated, affecting approximately 6,000–7,000 residents. The area included residential complexes, a hospital, three schools, mosques, farmland, and poultry and livestock barns that supported the village’s livelihood.
Abdullah explains: “In 2013, we received fair compensation of EGP 30,000 per feddan for our land in Dabaa. Today, authorities are offering just EGP 5,000 to 7,000 per square meter of buildings—ridiculously low sums that can’t buy us homes elsewhere. They promised each family 350 square meters in another Dabaa village, but we can only build on half of that land. We would lose our farmland and olive trees, our source of income, for which they’re offering just EGP 1,000 per tree.”
Abdullah adds that Jemima residents live simple lives dependent on agriculture and livestock. Their only demand is fair compensation. He recounts the violence that erupted last Monday when a military officer fired live bullets at villagers throwing stones to block the advance of military forces. One young man was shot in the shoulder tendons, underwent surgery in Alexandria, and was placed in intensive care. Officials later met with residents to calm tensions, claiming the officer’s actions were “an isolated incident” and promising he would face military trial.
In July 2023, Talaat Moustafa Group announced sales of EGP 200 billion from the “South Med” project in the North Coast within just six working days. Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO of the group, revealed that the project is being developed on 23 million square meters with an investment of EGP 1 trillion and is expected to generate $35 billion in sales while creating 1.6 million direct jobs.
According to the group’s official website, the South Med project is located on the Mediterranean coast in Sidi Abdel Rahman at kilometer 165 on the Alexandria-Marsa Matrouh Road, just 18 minutes from Alamein International Airport. The project spans 23 million square meters and includes sandy beaches, swimming pools, a yacht marina, crystal lagoons, luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, entertainment venues, golf courses, sports facilities, and other services.
The starting price for units begins at EGP 13.2 million. A 156-square-meter apartment averages EGP 28.85 million, while independent villas on 731 square meters are priced at around EGP 195.8 million. Chalets spanning 142 square meters are priced at EGP 17.5 million.
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Property Protection in the Constitution
Ragheb Al-Darbali, former head of the Matrouh Bar Association and lawyer before the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Constitutional Court, explained to Zawia3 that residents of the North Coast, including Jemima village, have lived on this land for around a thousand years, originally relying on grazing as their primary livelihood. Over the last century, they exercised sovereignty over these lands in the absence of state oversight. However, in the past two decades, the North Coast has become a hotspot for tourism investments. Al-Darbali emphasized that these lands and their residents should be dealt with under the constitution and law, which protects ownership rights.
He clarified: “The constitution protects ownership under three categories: long-term possession for over 15 years, known as ‘acquisitive prescription,’ which requires markers like wells and planted crops; ownership validated by acknowledgment certificates; and ownership registered with official ‘blue deeds’ as per Egyptian law.”
He continued: “The government attempted to seize these lands through Presidential Decree No. 177 of 2004, a controversial and unconstitutional decision mandating the evacuation of 455 kilometers of the North Coast and relocating residents to desert hinterlands south of the international road to prepare the land for Arab and foreign investments. We lawyers and intellectuals opposed this decree, which jeopardizes Egypt’s national security by vacating its 1,000-kilometer-long North Coast of its residents—historically the region’s first line of defense, as seen during the British occupation.”
The North West Coast of Egypt spans 500 kilometers from El Alamein to Salloum, with a desert hinterland extending over 280 kilometers, covering a total area of approximately 160,000 square kilometers, according to the Egyptian Presidency’s website.
On Jemima’s crisis, Al-Darbali added that it’s rumored the land has been sold to an Emirati company in partnership with the Egyptian military and businessman Hisham Talaat Moustafa, while the residents were excluded from any negotiations. This violates both Egyptian and international laws, as compensation must only apply when land is seized for public benefit, such as national projects or military purposes, not for tourism investments.
Al-Darbali stressed: “Landowners should be compensated at fair market rates, not offered EGP 300,000 per feddan while the same land is sold to Arab investors for millions of dollars. If residents are forced to sign over their land, such agreements are illegal and unconstitutional. The authorities would then be guilty of violating citizens’ constitutional rights and committing the crime of forced displacement—an international offense under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, equivalent to war crimes. The situation also risks extrajudicial killings, with over 2,000 deaths recorded in the Western Desert in recent years.”
He expressed concern over involving the military in Jemima’s land conflict, which could create hostility with residents. Al-Darbali and other lawyers are preparing a legal case against the government regarding the displacement of residents in Ras El-Hekma and Jemima.
Article 33 of Egypt’s 2014 Constitution states that the state protects all types of ownership—public, private, and cooperative. Amendments to Article 35 affirm that private ownership is inviolable, must fulfill its social function, and cannot be confiscated except for public benefit with fair compensation. Furthermore, Article 49 of the 1949 Geneva Convention prohibits the forced collective or individual transfer of people unless done for their protection in armed conflict situations.
Jemima Is Not Alone
Saeed El-Hefyan, Secretary of Arab Tribes Affairs and former local council member in Matrouh, told Zawia3 that Jemima residents were shocked last Monday when Border Guards, accompanied by bulldozers, entered the village. An army officer reportedly ordered a soldier to fire live rounds at residents protesting the operation. When the soldier refused, the officer seized his weapon and shot 23-year-old Abdel Qader Safi Gaballah in the chest, injuring his liver and tearing an artery in his right shoulder. Abdel Qader underwent three surgeries in an Alexandria hospital and was placed in intensive care. His condition stabilized, and visits were permitted the following Tuesday. Meanwhile, company trucks withdrew from the village land, but two residents remain detained.
El-Hefyan explained that officials misrepresent the situation to the political leadership, falsely claiming that Jemima residents have agreed to leave in exchange for insufficient compensation. In reality, residents demand fair compensation based on market prices, which represent only 10% of the South Med project’s reported value. He highlighted the case of a villager who accepted EGP 1 million for his home—valued at EGP 10 million—before passing away from grief after losing his land.
He proposed limiting the South Med project to 5,000 feddans instead of 5,555, allocating the remaining 555 feddans to Jemima’s displaced residents. He also suggested employing locals as security personnel and workers in the project to compensate for their loss of livelihood from seasonal farming and grazing.
El-Hefyan criticized the absence of Marsa Matrouh’s governor and parliamentary representatives, warning of a similar crisis brewing for residents in the El-Geneina area, where authorities plan another relocation. He also mentioned unresolved issues faced by residents of Dabaa Airport’s land, who are still seeking fair compensation.
While sources confirm that Abdel Qader Safi’s condition has stabilized, Jemima’s residents remain fearful of losing their homes and farmland to the South Med tourism project. Similar concerns are echoed by many indigenous residents of the North Coast and Marsa Matrouh, who hope the Egyptian authorities will provide fair compensation reflecting current real estate and land market values, ensuring them a dignified livelihood.
