Egypt to Israel: We want peace, sending Gazans to us harms sovereignty

An Egyptian source involved in relations with Israel told Kann News reporter Roi Kais today (Wednesday) that all the talk and fears of a possible war between the two countries are "empty" and solely "media-based."

The same source said that it is true that the two countries have serious disagreements regarding the war in Gaza, but both sides are interested in the "strategic peace" between Egypt and Israel.

He also said that the calls for moving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and relocating them into Egypt, which he said are coming from the "hawkish right" are perceived as calls to harm Egyptian sovereignty. The source said that this cannot happen, and that Egypt has delivered very clear messages to Israel, the United States, and "the whole world," while still adhering to the peace agreement.

Egypt has spearheaded the diplomatic effort to head off President Donald Trump's proposal to "permanently" relocate the displaced Gazan civilians from the war-torn Strip to other countries, including Jordan, Egypt, and other states.

This effort includes forming a coalition of Arab states to oppose the plan and to propose an alternative which would rebuild the Strip without allowing a single Gazan to leave.

Meanwhile, multiple signs of a possible Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai peninsula, beyond what Israel agreed to as part of the fight against ISIS, have increased in the last few years. These include engineering projects to make it easier to move large numbers of troops across the Suez Canal in a short amount of time, as well as displays of military strength in the area and bellicose statements by a number of Egyptian officials.

Israel's Ambassador to the US, Dr. Yehiel Leiter, recently sounded the alarm on this impending danger, leading to a great deal of discussion of the issue in the Israeli media. The source speaking to Kais, as noted, believes that such worries are baseless.