UNRWA accuses "Israel" of preparing Gaza residents expulsion to Egypt
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The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that the Israeli occupation is attempting to enforce large-scale displacement upon the residents of Gaza.
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The Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the UNRWA headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (AP)
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that "Israel" is facilitating the large-scale displacement of Gaza Strip residents towards Egypt via the border.
In a Saturday article featured in the Los Angeles Times, Lazzarini highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. He emphasized the increasing concentration of displaced civilians, who, escaping war, were moving closer to the northern and southern borders.
Lazzarini noted that the United Nations and numerous member states, including the United States, opposed the compelled relocation of Gazans from the Strip.
But he added, "The developments we are witnessing indicate attempts to transfer Palestinians to Egypt, regardless of whether they reside there or are resettled elsewhere."
The Commissioner-General of the UN agency asserted that the extensive devastation in the northern Gaza Strip, coupled with the ensuing displacement, marks the initial phase of this unfolding scenario. He pointed out that the subsequent stage involves compelling civilians to evacuate the city of Khan Younis, situated in the southern region near the border.
He said, "If this path continues, it will lead to what many are already calling the Second Nakba. Gaza will no longer be a land for the Palestinians," referring to the Palestinian Nakba when 760,000 Palestinians were displaced during the establishment of the 'State of Israel'.
A few days ago, Egypt categorically rejected the Israeli policy of forced displacement of the people of Gaza whether within the Strip or across the border into Eygpt's Sinai, the chairperson of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, stated.
Rashwan outlined the main principles that govern Cario's stance regarding the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, as well as the occupation's plots to forcibly displace Palestinians to Sinai.
In a press briefing, the official reiterated Egypt's rejection of the Israeli policy centered around the forced displacement of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip. Rashwan also rejected attempts to transfer Palestinians to Sinai or pressure them to move there via hostile practices.
He pointed out that the occupation has turned the Gaza Strip into a battlefield, especially in the northern areas, to force Palestinians to leave their homes and head toward so-called "safe zones" in Rafah, south of the Strip. He explained that these areas lack essential needs, such as water, food, and shelter.
