The name of the Negev Desert has trended in search engines following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's mention of it during a joint conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
President Sisi stated: "If there is an idea of displacement, the Negev Desert in Israel can be a location to transfer Palestinians until Tel Aviv finishes its declared mission against armed groups from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. The military operation that Israel desires, which aims to displace Palestinians to Sinai to eliminate the armed groups in Gaza, could take an unspecified number of years. Consequently, Egypt would bear the repercussions of this situation, transforming Sinai into a base for launching terrorist operations against Israel, for which Egypt would be held responsible."
But what is the Negev Desert?
- It is a desert region located in Western Asia, bordered on the east by the Asian-African Rift represented by the Arava Valley.
- The Negev Desert is within the political boundaries of Israel, with half of its population being Arab Bedouins who remained in this area after the 1948 war.
- The area of the Negev Desert is 14,000 square kilometers, and numerous Arab tribes and clans reside there.
- Israel considers it one of the most beautiful tourist areas, often recommended for its climate and tranquility.
- Although it is largely uninhabited, Israel is working hard to green this area, according to several Israeli media reports.
- There are five different ecological regions within the desert: northern, western, and central Negev, the high plateau, and the Arava Valley. The ecological regions vary in terms of rainfall; northern Negev receives the highest annual rainfall of 300 mm, while the Arava Valley receives the least at 100 mm annually, according to the newworldencyclopedia website.
President Sisi noted that the idea of displacing and evicting Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt essentially means a similar situation would occur, namely the eviction of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan. Thus, the concept of a Palestinian state that we and the international community discuss would not be feasible, as the land exists but the people do not.
He reiterated his warning about the dangers of the idea of displacement to Sinai, saying: "Transferring Palestinian citizens from the Gaza Strip to Sinai means we are transferring the idea of resistance and the concept of fighting from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, thus making Sinai a base for launches against Israel. In this case, it is Israel's right to defend itself and its national security, leading them to respond and engage with Egypt and strike Egyptian territories."
Moreover, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi added, "Egypt has 105 million people, and public opinion in Egypt and the Arab world influences each other. If it becomes necessary for us to ask the Egyptian people to express their rejection of this idea, they will see millions of Egyptians coming out to express this rejection and support our position on this matter."
