Australia and the World Past and Present

Israel is not the only county to have a border with Gaza. At the southern tip of Gaza, Egypt also has a border crossing with the tiny territory.

As the conflict with Israel continued it was natural to ask ‘why didn’t Egypt open their border to Palestinian refugees?’

There a few reasons why this is so.

A second Nakba?

First of all, Egypt does not want to be seen as facilitating the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.

The Egyptian authorities are concerned that Palestinians may not be allowed to return if they leave.

Some Israeli government ministers have advocated that Israeli settlements be set up in land taken in Gaza.

In January of this year some of Netanyahu’s ministers attended a conference discussing a resettlement of Gaza.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attended the conference.

There have been Israeli settlements in Gaza in the past. In 2005 Israel withdrew its its military and settlers from the territory.

Those who advocate for an Israeli resettlement of the area suggest that a presence there strengthens Israel’s security and that an absence of settlements increases the likelihood of armed conflict as can be seen from the current war.

However many Palestinians see things very differently. Many Palestinians refer to the period 1947-9 in Israeli/Palestine as Nakba or ‘catastrophe’. An estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee as a result of conflict.

There is concern that despite the suffering being experienced by the Palestinians, if they were to leave Gaza and flee to Egypt, it would in effect constitute a second Nakba.

War with Israel

If Egypt were to open its border and large numbers of Palestinians were to set up make-shift settlements in the Sinai Peninsula there are fears that any future attacks from Egyptian soil could draw Egypt into a war with Israel. Egypt and Israel have had a Peace Treaty since 1979.

Possible destabilisation of Egyptian politics

The current Egyption President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi came to power in 2013 by toppling former President Morsi. Since coming to power the El-Sisi government has cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood within Egypt. A large inflow of refugees could make governing more difficult and complex.

Fears of an unending refugee situation inside Egypt

Both Lebanon and Jordan have received significant numbers of Palestinian refugees in the past. These Palestinians have remained in place for decades with nowhere else to go. Their situation has never been fully resolved and there is no sign that it will be any time soon. Egypt understands this history and dosen’t want to create the same phenomenon inside its own borders.

Spiralling regional security

The Egyptian government is also concerned about security in the Red Sea and the impact of this upon the Egyptian economy.

There is the Houthi situation in Yemen and the associated attacks on shipping in the area.

Egypt receives significant revenue from ships passing through the Suez Canal. A reduction in the number of ships going through the canal leads to a drop in revenue for Egypt.

Egypt also sees problems brewing in other directions. If it looks to the south, it sees instability in Sudan. The same is true if it looks west towards Libya.

Despite sympathy for the situation faced by Palestinians in Gaza, the Egyptian government is concerned that an exodus into Egypt could make things even worse. Egypt doesn’t want to see a permanent removal of Palestinians from Gaza nor the creation of massive and potentially permanent refugee camps in the Sinai Peninsula. It is also concerned of being drawn into a war with Israel and the possible destabilisation of its own internal social and political environment.