Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Saturday warned that the forcible displacement of more than two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would result in hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants arriving in Europe and “in the West”.
The Egyptian leader spoke at length during annual celebrations of Police Day, which is marked on the anniversary of the uprising that culminated in the ousting of Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011.
Mr El Sisi was recently invited to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, the international body that has been appointed by the American leader to oversee the governance of Gaza after two years of war between Hamas and Israel laid waste to the majority of the territory's infrastructure and killed tens of thousands of civilians.
During his speech, Mr El Sisi warned that despite a ceasefire agreement, Israel is continuing a campaign of “systemic violence on Palestinian on their occupied lands” which is “categorically rejected by Egypt”.
“I reiterate the necessity of ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to our brothers and sisters in Gaza and of implementing in full the second phase of the agreement,” Mr El Sisi said.
"Reconstruction of the Strip must begin immediately so that its people can live in dignity.
"I warn that the displacement of nearly two and a half million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip - which would amount to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause - would inevitably drive hundreds of thousands toward Europe and Western countries, with severe security, economic, and social consequences that no party would be able to bear.”
The President also touched on the issue of extremist militias in the region and warned that Egypt was firmly against the formation and funding of such entities.
In a rare move, Mr El Sisi also defended the security forces’ conduct during the violent dispersal of the Muslim Brotherhood’s 2013 sit‑ins in Cairo, while he served as defence minister.
Without naming the now-banned Brotherhood directly, he said the state had not sought confrontation with protesters and that the bloodshed followed what he described as provocation and armed resistance.
“From the first day, we never took a measure intended to spill blood,” he said. “They were the ones who began. Go back and read the statement issued on July 3, it was all calls for dialogue, consensus and new elections.”
He added that had calm prevailed, Mohammed Morsi, president at the time who was backed by the Brotherhood, could have stood again.
"If we had simply gone to elections, President Morsi, may God rest his soul, could have run, and the people would have decided,” Mr El Sisi said, repeating that the use of force was a reaction rather than planned.
Mr El Sisi previously made only indirect reference to the 2011 uprising, choosing instead to focus on the sacrifices of security personnel and what he called the importance of protecting national “awareness.”
He said young Egyptians must learn the lessons of the past decade and remain immune to “distortions” spread through social media.
“We must keep our youths informed of the sacrifices made by our police, we must introduce them to the families of martyrs, so that they can understand the price we have paid for stability,” he said, urging co-ordination between state institutions, universities, churches and mosques to preserve social stability.
The President concluded by renewing his pledge that Egypt will continue along what he described as a stable and carefully planned path of development, relying on unity at home and caution abroad.
“Egypt will remain a refuge for stability, standing firm against extremism and against those who would weaken the state or divide the region,” he said.
