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February 6, 2025, 1:35 PM View Comments ()

If there’s one issue on which the people of Egypt and their government overwhelmingly agree, it’s the rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to evacuate Gaza’s Palestinians to Egypt. Egyptians may have different grounds for this position, but they are equally outraged by Trump’s proposed plan—and by the mere fact that he dared to announce it publicly.

The Egyptian people have historically regarded Israel as a colonial power, one that repeatedly sought to seize Egyptian land. Most Egyptian households have members who fought against Israel in the 1956, 1967, or 1973 wars, and younger generations still remember what their ancestors fought for.

Since October 2023, Egyptians have followed news of the shocking humanitarian toll of Israel’s war on Gaza. They have launched a boycott campaign of corporations they regard as pro-Israel, including many U.S. brands. So great is Egyptians’ sympathy for Palestinians that a simple Egyptian street vendor threw his fruits onto Gaza-bound aid trucks—a moment captured in a video that went viral last year.

But Egyptians’ current outrage is not solely or unanimously based on support for the Palestinian cause. Many see Trump’s brazen statements as an attack on their country’s sovereignty. Some are motivated by a conservative, nationalistic-based fear of a flood of Palestinians crossing into Egypt and competing with citizens over limited resources, amid rampant inflation that has devastated the livelihoods of millions.

Egypt’s leaders realize that condoning Trump would test the Egyptian people’s patience. Even before Trump made his shock announcement on Tuesday, the foreign ministry had, on Jan. 26, categorically rejected any displacement of Palestinians, whether “temporary or long term.”

To the Egyptian state, this is a national security issue that would undermine its already shaky domestic legitimacy and open the door for a security crisis due to the importation of Gaza’s violence to its territory. It could also cause grave internal tensions.

Even if Trump offers Egypt significant benefits in return, such as economic aid or debt relief, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would struggle to make any concessions on this issue. The stakes are very high.