Netanyahu's office contradicted Egypt's statement on Friday that it would not tolerate mass displacement of Palestinians and what it described as genocide, continuing to ratchet up its criticism of Israel's Gaza offensive as thousands of residents of Gaza City defied Israeli orders to leave.
"The Egyptian Foreign Ministry prefers to imprison in Gaza residents who want to leave the war zone against their will," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. "Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about the free choice of every individual to decide where to live. This is a basic human right at all times and especially during wartime."
"Displacement is not an option, and it is a red line for Egypt, and we will not allow it to happen," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters in Nicosia. "Displacement means liquidation and the end of the Palestinian cause, and there is no legal or moral or ethical ground to evict people from their homeland," he said.
His comments are in line with a hardening of Egyptian language this year about Israel's conduct in the enclave, which borders Egypt, even as it has worked with Qatar and the US to try to mediate a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old war. (Read More)
