White House ignores State Department pleas as it calls for Palestinians to go to Egypt

Egypt will not be swayed to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, US officials in the region have told the White House in recent days as they brace for the Trump administration to ramp up pressure on Cairo, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Trump has also said that Jordan will take in Palestinians ahead of King Abdullah II’s visit to Washington next week.

The growing divide between diplomats and the White House has heightened tensions, pitting President Donald Trump and his closest advisers against career diplomats in the region, who are ferrying messages to Arab officials.

In the case of Egypt, US officials warned the White House that the controversial proposal could destabilise a close ally and that Egypt would not be susceptible to financial incentives, a senior US diplomat in the region told MEE.

The notion that Palestinians can be moved to Egypt, Jordan or any third country is widely regarded as ethnic cleansing of the besieged enclave and would likely violate international law.

Read more: White House ignores State Department pleas as it calls for Palestinians to go to Egypt