Tent city
Report: Egypt is building desert camps amid fears of mass exodus
Inside the Gaza Strip, displaced Palestinians near the Gaza-Egypt border. photo
© Mohammed Talatene/dpa
Israel’s planned military offensive in Rafah is met with growing international criticism. Egypt fears an onslaught of Palestinians. In this case, it is reportedly planning a reception camp in the desert.
For weeks, Egypt has been trying to increase security along the Gaza border with soldiers, fences and armored vehicles to prevent a rush of desperate Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula. The planned camp is part of an emergency plan in the event that a large number of Palestinians manage to escape.
The governor of Egypt’s North Sinai region denied initial reports of the construction of a potential refugee camp for Palestinians, saying the activities in the area were part of an inventory of homes destroyed during Egypt’s past military campaign against Islamic State extremists in the area , it was said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered his country’s military to present plans for an offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, which borders Egypt, and for the evacuation of civilians there. It’s about destroying the last Hamas fighting units.
1.3 million people in Rafah
According to the UN, around 1.3 million people live in Rafah. Most fled there from other parts of the Gaza Strip before the war, some on orders from the Israeli military. In the event of a major influx of Palestinians from Gaza, Egypt would ideally try to limit the number of refugees to around 50,000 to 60,000, although the new desert camp covering around 20 square kilometers could accommodate more than 100,000, the newspaper reported.
This corresponds to the population of Cottbus. It was said that the planned camp was located far from Egyptian settlements. A large number of tents have already been brought there but have not yet been set up, the newspaper quoted Egyptian officials as saying.
Israel’s planned military offensive in Rafah is met with growing international criticism. According to the Wall Street Journal, Egypt has even threatened to terminate its peace treaty with Israel if there is an influx of Palestinians from Gaza across the border.
If Israel decides to launch the offensive, the military would attempt to move the civilian population north – out of the combat zone but within the Gaza Strip – the newspaper quoted a senior Israeli military official as saying.