Jordan joins Egypt in condemning Netanyahu’s remarks on displacing Gazans via Rafah crossing

CAIRO – 5 September 2025: Jordan condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks regarding displacing the people of Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, stating that such plans violate the rights of Palestinians in remaining on their lands.

In a statement on Thursday, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “the hostile and unacceptable statements made by extremists within the Israeli government regarding the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land.”

Netanyahu drew condemnation from Egypt after stating in an interview that he could allow the people of Gaza to leave through the Rafah crossing, but Egypt will “immediately block” them.

Netanyahu claimed that Egypt is “imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone.”

Egypt has roundly rejected US-Israeli schemes to evacuate 2.2 million Palestinians from Gaza toward Sinai over nearly two years of unrelenting Israeli war.

President Abdel Fatath El-Sisi has reiterated that the Palestinian displacement is a red line for Egypt and will not be permitted.

Sisi has urged Palestinians to stay steadfast and “remain on their land” to avoid the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.

The president recently stressed that Egypt will “remain a gateway for aid [to Gaza] not for displacement.”

Egypt and Jordan have long rejected a proposal by US President Donald Trump to transfer Palestinians to both Arab countries.

In today’s statement, the Jordanian ministry described Israel’s plans to displace Palestinians from their lands as “a war crime that the Kingdom will confront with all available means.”

Jordan slammed Netanyahu’s remarks as “an egregious violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” stating that

The ministry added that the displacement of Palestinians also constitutes “a blatant infringement on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to remain on their land and establish their independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Jordan condemned Israeli rhetoric aimed at imposing new realities on the ground through coercive means, including the use of blockade and starvation as tools to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land.

'Inviolable Red Line'

Egypt’s foreign ministry stated that Netanyahu’s statements are part of ongoing efforts “to prolong the escalation in the region and entrench instability, in an attempt to avoid facing the consequences of Israel’s violations in Gaza, both domestically and internationally.”

Egypt reiterated its firm rejection of “any forced or voluntary displacement of the Palestinian people from their land,” condemning Israel’s “continued targeting of civilians, civil infrastructure, and various aspects of daily life to compel Palestinians to leave.”

“Egypt reaffirms that it will never be a party to this injustice through the liquidation of the Palestinian cause or by serving as a gate for displacement. This matter remains a red line that will not change.”

Cairo called for “activating mechanisms of accountability for these declared crimes, which are increasingly being used as tools of political propaganda in Israel due to the absence of international justice.”

Egypt urged the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to provide protection for the Palestinian people and support their continued presence on their land in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

It also calls for pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories, expressing rejection of “any attempt to force the Palestinian people to choose between remaining under Israeli bombardment and systematic starvation or being expelled from their homeland.”

Israel is currently facing multiple accusations of genocide and war crimes related to its military operations in Gaza, with proceedings underway at both the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Since the start of the war in October 2023, Israel has killed 64,300 Palestinians in Gaza only, many of them women and children, and injured over 162,000 more, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Israeli has also destroyed homes and crucial facilities including hospitals and schools, forced most of the population to flee their homes, and plunged the enclave into a famine that has killed 373 people, including 134 children.