The site near the Rafah border should have capacity for more than 100,000 people and will be surrounded by walls
Egypt is building camp in the Sinai desert, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, to prevent the unrestrained entry of Palestinians into the country, says the NGO Sinai Foundation for Human Rights. According to the North American newspaper Wall Street JournalEgyptian officials said more than 100,000 people could be accommodated there.
The African country fears that an Israeli offensive against Hamas in Rafah, a Palestinian city on the border, will provoke an exodus of refugees into the country.
Satellite images, initially released by Wall Street Journalshow a large area of deforested land and a wall being built in the “buffer zone” between Egypt and Rafah. The region is demilitarized by Israel and the Egyptian government.
According to the American newspaper, the area is surrounded by concrete walls and far from any Egyptian settlement. In addition, tents, not yet erected, were delivered to the site.
In the event of a large outflow of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, authorities have reportedly stated that they would try to keep the number of refugees well below the camp's capacity of 50,000 to 60,000 people.
On Thursday (Feb 15), the governor of the Egyptian region of North Sinai, Mohamed Abdel-Fadil, denied that the construction will be intended for Palestinian refugees. According to him, the area is being used to assess homes destroyed during a previous Egyptian military operation against Islamic State extremists in the region.
According to the WSJEgyptian officials stated that Palestinians who enter the fenced area will not be allowed to leave unless they are leaving for another country.
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, a London-based NGO that monitors events in the Egyptian region, reported on the settlement on Wednesday (14.Feb) detailing the construction.
They confirm the construction of concrete walls over 7 meters high and released a map of the approximate area where the structure is being built.
Watch (3min34s):
حصلت مؤسسة سيناء على مواد مصورة جديدة تؤكد ما نشر أمس عن قيان ت المصرية ببناء منطقة أمنية عازلة محاطة بأش شرق سيناء.
وتظهر المواد الجديدة ما أكدته مصادر المؤسسة بالبدء في إنشاء منطقة م عزولة محاطة بأسوار على الحدود مع قطاع غزة بهدف استقبال لاجئين حال… pic.twitter.com/EzeI4XDX34
— Sinai for Human Rights (@Sinaifhr) February 15, 2024
On the other hand, the head of the Egyptian Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, deniesdespite the images shared to the public, that the construction was intended to prevent possible Palestinian refugees from Rafah from entering the country.
According to Rashwan, the government is reinforcing the 6-meter border wall to “make it impossible” the smuggling of military equipment into the enclave.
Israel accuses the border between Egypt and Gaza of being a bridge for the transport of weapons, explosives and ammunition into Palestinian territory. According to the Jewish country, there are several methods of transporting equipment, including through underground tunnels.
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