Egypt has rejected payments from the international community to accept non-combatants from Gaza to ease the humanitarian crisis from the recent war started by HAMAS’ October 7th attack on Israel.
Egypt’s continued resistance to helping non-combatants leave Gaza has been reported here at GazaPassage. Egypt has offered multiple reasons for its rejection including security concerns and the Gazans’ political agenda. Egypt’s claimed absolutist position has, apparently, placed Gazans’ political agenda above their lives. Egypt has even rejected foreign nationals leaving.
But Israel National News’ Tzachi Levi reports that an international consortium offering to pay Egypt to take the non-combatants who wish to leave Gaza has been rebuffed. Israel, “[the] United States and the United Arab Emirates [offered Egypt] a series of economic benefits in exchange for opening the crossing.” And Egypt has rejected the offer of payment.
Levi recommends that “Israel and the US organize the international community, UNRWA, and the International Monetary Fund, to flow economic aid to Egypt, to enable the absorption of some of the Gazans in Egypt.” He insists Turkey would welcome them and Europe is required to take them once the UNRWA grants them refugee status. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), 2/3rds of Gazans are already refugees.
GazaPassage is working to ensure nations like Egypt, the United States, Israel, Turkey, the UAE, and organizations such as the UNRWA, IMF, the EU, and other nations and organizations around the world help non-combatants leave Gaza for humanitarian purposes.
Levi notes that Egypt has 2,000,000 empty housing units as a result of its “planned economy” and is on the “verge of insolvency” after “Moody’s rating agency lowered Egypt’s credit rating from B3 to Caa1.”
