EGYPT BUILDS A HOLDING AREA ON THE BORDER NEAR RAFAH In case an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights published videos and images it said were heavy-duty construction equipment working at a border area in Egypt, near Rafah.
Citing an unidentified source, the Sinai Foundation said that the construction work was intended to create a secured area in case of a mass exodus of Palestinians.
Reuters was able to confirm the location of part of the video as Rafah from the position of the buildings, trees and fences which match satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to confirm the location of the whole of the video or the date on which the video was filmed.
Egypt is preparing an area at the Gaza border which could accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier, four sources said, in what they described as a contingency move by Cairo.
Egypt, which denied making any such preparations, has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai – something Cairo says would be completely unacceptable – echoing warnings from Arab states such as Jordan.
The United States has repeatedly said it would oppose any displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza.
