CAIRO (Reuters) – Thousands of people demonstrated at the Rafah border crossing on Friday, an eyewitness told Reuters, in a rare state-sanctioned protest against a proposal earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump for Egypt and Jordan to accept Gazan refugees.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday rejected the idea that Egypt would facilitate the displacement of Gazans and said Egyptians would take to the streets to express their disapproval.
Protesters could be heard chanting “Long Live Egypt” and waving Egyptian and Palestinian flags.
“We say no to any displacement of Palestine or Gaza at the expense of Egypt, on the land of Sinai,” said Sinai resident Gazy Saeed.
Egyptian security sources told Reuters that parties close to Sisi had sent buses to ferry protesters to the border crossing, where civilian movement is typically restricted, but said the outpouring expressed public and not just leadership disapproval of Trump’s proposal.
Trump said on Saturday that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of Israeli bombardment that rendered most of its 2.3 million people homeless.
On Thursday, Trump forcefully reiterated the idea, saying “We do a lot for them, and they are going to do it,” in apparent reference to abundant U.S. aid, including military assistance, to both Egypt and Jordan.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza – territory they hope will become part of an independent state – has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly rejected by neighbouring Arab states since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt.
(Reporting by Cairo bureau; Editing by Gareth Jones)
