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What is the Negev desert which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi is mentioning, should the Palestinians of Gaza be “forcibly displaced?” On October 18, Sissi, who is opposed to the exodus of Gazans to Egypt, sounded the alarm, worried as he is that such displacement “would end the Palestinian cause at the expense of neighboring countries and render impossible the creation of a Palestinian State.”
Since the attack launched on October 7 by Hamas against Israel, Tel Aviv has been attempting – by all means – to push Gazans down to the south of the city, towards Egypt. Cairo refuses this strategy for both political and security reasons. First, driving Palestinians from their land is “a means to end the Palestinian cause,” as President Sissi clearly stated. Second, “by sending them to the Sinai desert, they would be moving the resistance and struggle to Egypt,” he warned. Therefore, if “attacks are made from Egyptian soil, Israel will have the right to defend itself and retaliate against Cairo,” Sissi added. He elaborates, “This would reverse the peace agreement signed in 1979 by Israel and Egypt, according to which we have recognized the Hebrew State and received considered military aid from the United States.”
President Sissi’s words come as a direct answer to the call addressed on October 15 by former Israeli Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Ayalon, asking Egypt to set up camps equipped with tents, in order to temporarily shelter the Palestinians in the “almost infinite land” that is the Sinai desert.
This was precisely when the Negev desert in south Israel was brought up. Should there be forced displacement, why not opt for the Negev? Israel could, afterwards, send Palestinians back to Gaza if it wishes to,” President Sissi announced.
Negev
Long perceived as a strategically important area for the state of Israel, especially by former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, the 14000 km2 Negev desert takes up two thirds of the Israeli territory. It houses 8% of the Israeli population and borders Jordan in the east, the Sinai desert in the west, and the West Bank in the north, via the city of Hebron. The 300000 Negev residents are mostly bedouins, the majority of which are Israeli Arabs. The Negev comprises 46 Arab villages, of which Israel only recognizes 11. The remaining 35 are inhabited by 150000 Israeli Arabs, half the desert’s population, and are constantly vandalized by Israeli settlers who deprive them of water, electricity, schools and hospitals.
Through the years, Israel has tried to seize bedouin territories, as it considers the Negev desert a strategic area. It has managed to displace the Arab population under the pretext of development projects that consist, among other things, of building new cities to house Israeli jews.
In January 2022, the number of Israeli settlements in the Negev desert reached 114. The Jewish State developed several projects in it, such as military bases and airports, including Ramon Airport. The Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, one of the country’s most important universities, is also located there.
More importantly, the Negev houses the Dimona power plant, the center of Israel’s military nuclear program.
A Trade
Exchanging the Negev desert against part of the Sinai? This is what Israel aspires to, according to certain experts. And the idea is not recent. In fact, it was suggested in the past during the negotiations that led to the signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979. The Israelis had then tried to secure the following deal with former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat: to leave him part of of the Negev, in exchange for portions of the Sinai. Sadat accepted the offer, on one condition: that Egypt should be allowed to decide which areas Israel would grant it. Eventually, Sadat would choose the port of Eilat, the only one in the Red Sea, a major commercial hub between Africa and Asia, one that Israel would not renounce. The deal fell apart, only to be proposed again when President Mubarak took office. It was cancelled yet again…
In January 2010, retired general and former head of the Israeli national security council, Giora Eiland, wrote an essay titled “Regional Alternatives to the Two States Solution.” In Chapter 5, “Regional Solution: an Exchange of Territories,” Eiland stated the following, “To improve their relations with Israel, Arab states should renounce some parts of their territories.”
It is mentioned in the document that Egypt would give Gaza a 720 km2 piece of land, a rectangular plot stretching 24 km on one side, along the Mediterranean coast from Rafah in the west, to Arich (not included). On the other side, it starts in Kerem Shalom and extends 30 km south. Therefore, the 365 km2 Gaza strip would triple in size. Eiland adds, “This 720 km2 piece of land is around 12% the size of the West Bank. In exchange for its annexation to the Gaza strip, the Palestinians would renounce 12% of the West Bank, to Israel’s advantage. And against the territories given by Egypt to the West Bank, Israel would let go of a territory (the size of which shouldn’t exceed 720 km2) in the south-west of the Negev.” The territory in question is Paran.
According to certain observers, willingly renouncing this part of the Negev desert translates Israel’s desire to obtain more resource-rich lands that would allow it to develop settlement projects amounting to the displacement of Palestinians to neighbouring countries.
