Border wall between Egypt and Rafah (Reuters)

Egypt denied media reports that it had prepared a buffer zone surrounded by concrete walls to shelter displaced Palestinians near its border with the Gaza Strip, in the event of their forced displacement as a result of the bloody Israeli aggression, while Israel confirmed that it would coordinate with Egypt before an expected military operation in Rafah.

The head of the Egyptian Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said in a statement published on Friday evening that Egypt has already had, for a long time and before the current war, a buffer zone and walls in this region, and he pointed out that these are procedures and measures taken by any country in the world to maintain the security of its borders and its sovereignty over its lands.

The Egyptian official pointed out his country’s position of rejecting the displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression, which was confirmed by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and all parts of the state dozens of times. He stressed that this position stipulates a complete and irreversible rejection of any forced or voluntary displacement of Palestinians from the Strip. Gaza outside, especially Egyptian territory.

The Wall Street Journal said that the buffer zone is approximately 13 square kilometers in area, located far from residential areas (French).

Details of the buffer zone

The American Wall Street Journal quoted unidentified Egyptian sources and security analysts as saying that Egypt is establishing a buffer zone surrounded by concrete walls near the border with Gaza in anticipation of the possibility of a large influx of displaced Palestinians, due to the possible Israeli military operation in Rafah.

The newspaper added that the buffer zone, which is located in North Sinai and has an area of ​​approximately 13 square kilometers, is located far from residential communities, and published images taken by satellites for the company “Labs BBC” based in San Francisco, showing the bulldozing of soil in the supposed closed area between February 4 and 14. This February.

She also referred to a video clip published by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights - based in London - showing what the foundation said was the area surrounded by concrete walls exceeding 6 meters in height.

According to what was stated in the report, a camp may be established in the area to accommodate about 100,000 displaced Palestinians.

The Sinai Foundation obtained new photographic materials confirming what was published yesterday about the Egyptian authorities building a security buffer zone surrounded by walls in the Egyptian city of Rafah, east of Sinai.

The new materials show what the organization’s sources confirmed by starting to establish an isolated area surrounded by walls on the border with the Gaza Strip, with the aim of receiving refugees immediately… pic.twitter.com/EzeI4XDX34

— Sinai for Human Rights (@Sinaifhr) February 15, 2024

However, the newspaper, on the other hand, reported statements by the Governor of North Sinai, Muhammad Abdel Fadil Shusha, in which he denied yesterday, Thursday, what was reported about the possibility of establishing a buffer zone that includes a camp to house displaced Palestinians who may flee from Rafah, indicating that the reason for the works is that committees from the governorate inventory the homes and homes that It was demolished during the war on terrorism.

The Wall Street Journal referred to the declared Egyptian position against the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which reached the point of threatening to withdraw from the Camp David peace agreement with Israel.

For its part, The Washington Post published a report on the same topic based on the video published by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights and satellite images.

A former Egyptian official told the newspaper that the worst scenarios must be dealt with, adding that the Egyptian army cannot fire on Palestinians if tens of thousands of them flow across the border.

Katz confirmed that Israel will coordinate with Egypt before the expected military operation in Rafah (French)

The Israeli position

In a related context, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz confirmed on Friday that Israel will coordinate with Egypt before the expected military operation in Rafah.

Katz said on Friday during the Munich Security Conference held in southern Germany, “Egypt is our ally. We have a peace agreement with it and we will work in a way that does not harm its interests.” He added that the military operation will take place “after coordination with it,” also stressing that Israel “will inform” US President Joe Biden. By military attack.

Palestinian officials, the United Nations and many countries around the world have expressed their concern about the catastrophic consequences for the population of such an attack and condemned the creation of a new generation of refugees without any hope of return.

But the Israeli Foreign Minister reiterated his country's determination to carry out this operation to track down the Hamas movement.

He said that if Hamas and its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, believe that they can find refuge in Rafah, this will never happen, adding, "We will provide civilians with safe areas to go to and we will deal with Hamas."

Israel has launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October, leaving tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure.

Source: American press + agencies