UAE president warns Egypt it may lose US support if it doesn’t take in Gazan civilians

US President Donald Trump urged Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to agree to absorb Gazan civilians as part of a plan to relocate the population during the rebuilding process, but Sisi initially refused.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

During a surprise visit to Cairo, UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed warned Egypt that it will lose US support if it doesn’t agree to take in Gazan civilians, the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news outlet reported.

US President Donald Trump urged Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to agree to absorb Gazan civilians as part of a plan to relocate the population during the rebuilding process, but Sisi initially refused.

In addition, Egyptian officials refuted the rumor that circulated in the media last week that Egypt was ready to take in half a million Gazans.

Tahnoun bin Zayed, deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE National Security Advisor, met with Trump at the White House last Tuesday and agreed to invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over the next decade.

The UAE president warned Egypt that it may forfeit economic aid from the US if it doesn’t agree to absorb Gazan civilians.

However, if Egypt agrees to open its doors to Gazans, Zayed indicated, the US will be ready to provide billions in aid to Egypt’s challenged economy.

According to Al-Araby’s Egyptian sources, the plan is to allow 500,000 to 700,000 central and northern Gaza residents to relocate to Egypt.

The report indicates that the US is focusing on Egypt and will approach Jordan at a later date to absorb Palestinians from Judea and Samaria.

A survey released by the British Telegraph newspaper shows that 52% of Gaza residents would choose to leave the Gaza Strip, either temporarily or permanently, if given the chance.

The Gallup survey, conducted between March 2-13 with 532 Gaza residents aged 18 and older, revealed a divided outlook on their future in Gaza.

Of those surveyed, 39% expressed a desire to stay in Gaza without plans to leave, 38% were open to temporarily relocating with the intention of returning, and 14% said they would permanently leave if given the opportunity.