Up until the closure of this current edition, 1.7 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been forced to abandon their land, belongings and lives as a result of the attacks committed by the Israeli army.
This was reported by several non-governmental organisations who consider this forced displacement “to be the preamble to the Israeli government’s plans for genocide.”
In a joint statement, the organisations warned about “the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as part of the intentions declared by Israeli leaders to commit genocide”.
The institutions mentioned the recent warning made by 880 academics, experts from the United Nations (UN) and human rights groups from around the world about this strategy. Action over terrain, in combination with explicit calls from Israeli leaders for ethnic cleansing of this territory confirm a possible mass deportation of the civilian population to Egypt or a permanent movement of civilians from the north to the south of Gaza, both in clear violation of international law, warned the statement.
Evacuation orders towards the southern zones are ineffective, illegal and, essentially, a tool for forced movement, states the declaration signed by Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Community Action Centre among others.
In this regard, it must be remembered that the International Committee of the Red Cross also gave a warning about the danger of these orders.
Forced displacement and denying the return of those internally displaced are violations of international rights, even being considered a crime against humanity as typified in article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, according to the NGOs.
On many occasions, both the Egyptian President, Abdel Fatah El-Sissi, as well as his chancellor, Sameh Shourky, warned Israel over the expulsion of Palestinians who live in Gaza and demanded an immediate ceasefire.
Two weeks ago, the Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, warned Israel that this strategy is a threat to his country and assured them that they would face a decisive response. “Since the beginning of the escalation of violence, we have realised that the objective is to push the Palestinians towards Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula,” he emphasised when speaking to the House of Representatives.
“Egypt totally and absolutely rejects the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egyptian territory, rejects each and every one of the Israeli measures to force Palestinians to do so, and considers this a threat to Egyptian territory and sovereignty,” he noted. PL
(Translated by Donna Davison. Email: donna_davison@hotmail.com) – Photos: Pixabay
.jpg)
