Former Egyptian Ambassador Exposes Longstanding Plans for Gaza Expansion into Sinai

The former Egyptian ambassador to the occupied territories Atef Salem Sayyid Al-Ahl has revealed that Tel Aviv’s strategic policies have left no room for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Instead these policies have consistently focused on plans such as the creation of a ‘Greater Gaza’ through encroachment into the Sinai Peninsula.

In a recent interview on the program ‘The Secret Session’ aired by Cairo News Network Al-Ahl elaborated on new dimensions of resettlement projects. He referenced a 2004 proposal that involved land exchanges between the Negev region in occupied territory and Sinai in Egypt. According to this scenario the Gaza Strip was to extend approximately 24 kilometers into Egyptian territory to facilitate geographical expansion while simultaneously relocating part of Gaza’s population deeper into the Sinai Desert.

Al-Ahl emphasized that the concept of ‘forced relocation’ is not a novel idea and pointed out its historical context. He noted that in the 1950s an initial plan was proposed to resettle 120000 Gaza families in Sinai. In the 1970s discussions took place between Britain and Israel regarding population redistribution. During the Bush and Trump administrations these plans reemerged in the form of new regional initiatives including the so-called ‘Deal of the Century.’

The former ambassador stressed that these projects were not merely theoretical ideas but included plans for the construction of new cities in Sinai and a complete population redistribution aimed at eliminating the issue of Palestinian statehood. Al-Ahl concluded by stating that the recent ‘Storm of Al-Aqsa’ operation has once again brought these archived scenarios to the forefront of the Israeli cabinet’s discussions. He highlighted that leaked intelligence documents and the public statements of extremist ministers in the current regime demonstrate the ongoing mindset of the occupiers regarding the forced relocation of Palestinians from their homeland.