Egyptians rally near Rafah crossing against displacement of Palestinians

Cairo(The Uttam Hindu): Thousands of people gathered on Friday near the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, the only channel linking Egypt with the Gaza Strip, to express opposition to the displacement of Palestinians. State-run Nile TV showed protestors waving Egyptian and Palestinian flags and raising placards that read "no to displacement."

The protestors included political figures from the Egyptian parliament and citizens who shouted chants of rejection of calls to relocate Palestinians from their land to Egypt and Jordan. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump insisted that Egypt and Jordan will comply with his controversial proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to the two countries. "They will do it ... We do a lot for them, and they're going to do it," Trump told reporters when asked if he would consider measures to pressure Cairo and Amman to accept his plan. On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said the displacement of Palestinians is an act of "injustice," in which Egypt will not participate, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been a key gateway for delivering relief supplies donated by Egypt, other countries, and international organisations. The Palestinian side of the crossing has been controlled by Israel since May 2024, which had blocked its operation until the recent ceasefire deal. A long line of trucks, laden with humanitarian aid, snaked its way towards the heavily-guarded Rafah crossing, hours after the ceasefire agreement came into effect, earlier this month.