Israel and Egypt clashed Friday in a war of words over the fate of Palestinians in Gaza, with Egypt accusing Israel of “genocide” and Israel accusing Egypt of “imprisoning” Palestinian civilians in a war zone. Egypt maintains a wall along its border with Gaza, and restricts the ability of Palestinians to leave. Though some Palestinians with foreign citizenship have been able to leave during the ongoing war, and others have been able to bribe officials to allow them to cross the border, very few have been able to leave Gaza for the relative safety of Egypt or the world beyond.
Egypt’s practice of denying an escape for Palestinians continues a long-standing practice in the Arab world of refusing to accept Palestinians, or refusing to allow them to become citizens, lest doing so might help Israel subsequently secure its claims to territory or legitimacy.
Egypt’s practice of denying an escape for Palestinians continues a long-standing practice in the Arab world of refusing to accept Palestinians, or refusing to allow them to become citizens, lest doing so might help Israel subsequently secure its claims to territory or legitimacy. The Israeli government has said that while it will not forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, it believes that any Palestinian who wishes to leave the territory (for destinations other than Israel) should be able to do so. (Read More)