The United States has reportedly used Egypt’s water security crisis as leverage to pressure Cairo into accepting the plan of forcibly relocating Gaza’s Palestinians, according to The New Arab’s Arabic language edition, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
During a visit to Cairo last Wednesday, January 29, a senior Trump administration official held separate meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and General Intelligence Chief Hassan Rashad, where discussions touched on both the controversial displacement plan and the ongoing dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam.
According to sources, the US envoy suggested that US involvement in resolving the dam crisis could be conditional on Egypt’s cooperation in relocating Gaza’s population to Egypt and Jordan.
Despite the pressure, Egyptian officials firmly rejected US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Gaza should be “cleaned out”, with its remaining pre-war population of 2.3 million transferred to neighbouring countries.
Egyptian officials reportedly voiced concerns over the proposal, warning of its significant challenges and consequences while stressing the difficulty of its implementation.
The US envoy also met with public figures and two political party leaders to assess Egypt’s stance on the proposal.
Discussions sought to determine whether public demonstrations against the plan reflected broader anti-US sentiment or were purely an objection to the displacement initiative.
According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the US envoy openly discussed the protests, suggesting they were organised in direct response to the American plan.
A senior Egyptian diplomatic source familiar with the meetings said Cairo’s ability to counter Trump’s plan would be difficult without broader Arab support.
The source indicated that Trump was determined to move forward with the proposal despite Egyptian objections.
Egyptian officials reiterated their openness to exploring alternative solutions that would ensure Israel’s security without forcibly displacing Palestinians from their land.
Two sources – one diplomatic and one political – suggested that the US envoy’s visit was likely the meeting Trump referenced last week while speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One.
Trump claimed to have discussed the displacement plan with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, though a senior Egyptian official at the time denied that such a conversation had taken place.
On Saturday, the Egyptian presidency confirmed in an official statement that President Sisi had received a phone call from Trump the previous evening.
According to Presidential Spokesman Mohamed El-Shenawy, the two leaders had a “positive discussion” on implementing the first and second phases of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which was brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.
They also emphasised the urgency of accelerating humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
El-Shenawy added that Sisi had reiterated the importance of achieving lasting peace in the region. He noted that the international community sees Trump as a key figure in brokering a historic resolution to the long-standing conflict, citing Trump’s repeated claims of “commitment to peace”.
