Israeli journalist Zvi Bar’el described US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff’s recent statements during an extensive interview with Tucker Carlson as “a shocking bombshell that triggered fear and sent seismic waves through the region.” In the interview, Witkoff placed Egypt metaphorically “on the operating table without anesthesia or preparation,” asserting that the region’s destiny is tightly bound to Gaza’s fate and explicitly stating, “Egypt is currently in danger.”
Bar’el, in his article for “Haaretz,” highlighted Witkoff’s assertion that “everything that occurred in Lebanon, including the appointment of a new president following the elimination of leaders like Sinwar and Hassan Nasrallah, would unravel if Egypt collapses.” Witkoff attributed this vulnerability to Egypt’s critical unemployment issue, stating, “The country has extremely high unemployment, reaching 25% among youth under 25 years old, a condition no state can sustainably endure.”
In the interview, Witkoff starkly depicted Egypt’s economic situation: “They are essentially bankrupt and in desperate need of help. A negative development in Egypt would push us all backward.” Bar’el remarked that Witkoff masterfully encapsulated all elements of a potential explosion within his words, linking the destiny of Egypt’s 110 million citizens to that of Gaza’s two million residents, branding Egypt implicitly as bankrupt.
However, Bar’el corrected Witkoff’s statistics, noting that Egypt’s official unemployment rate stands at 6.3%, rising to 14.5% among youth according to Western research. Despite this, Witkoff’s underlying message that Egypt cannot sustain such unemployment levels remains alarming, especially with the subtle yet threatening insinuation of Egypt’s dependence on American aid.
Egypt saw a direct connection between Witkoff’s statements and a report published the previous day by Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper, affiliated with Hezbollah, which claimed Egypt had temporarily agreed to absorb half a million Gazans in a newly built city in the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt officially and emphatically denied this report, but the shockwave from Witkoff’s words had already reverberated strongly.
Egyptian journalist and analyst Nashat Al-Deehy responded sharply, saying, “Witkoff is a real estate entrepreneur unfamiliar with history, geography, regional complexities, or Egypt’s regional role. Egypt is not bankrupt, and America’s aid can go to hell.”
Hussein Al-Haridi, former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister, told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that Witkoff’s statements amounted to veiled threats, categorizing them as intimidation tactics to pressure Egypt into agreeing to the forced displacement of Palestinians and preventing it from derailing attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Prominent Egyptian journalist Ahmed Moussa pointed out, “Despite economic hardships, Egypt has helped our Palestinian brothers significantly, contributing approximately 75% of the international aid entering Gaza. Egyptians will resist all pressures; we will never permit forced displacement plans compromising our national security.”
Bar’el acknowledged that Egypt indeed faces considerable economic difficulties unrelated to Gaza. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi successfully undertook complex economic reforms, including increasing fuel and bread prices and devaluing the Egyptian pound by 40% against the dollar—measures previous regimes avoided due to fear of destabilization. Sisi’s primary economic success hinged on securing tens of billions of dollars in Gulf investments: the UAE pledged around $35 billion, Saudi Arabia committed $10 billion, and Qatar projected raising its investments to $7 billion.
Nevertheless, Bar’el observed, Gulf states’ economic lifeline, substantially larger than US aid, remains insufficient to fully resolve Egypt’s challenges. This economic support, however, does not substitute the essential political and military backing Egypt receives from the US, which facilitates access to international financial institutions and helps Egypt withstand significant political pressures, such as Trump’s earlier push for Egypt and Jordan to absorb two million Gazans.
Trump later abandoned that demand following frank discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, Egypt’s concerns resurfaced with Witkoff’s alarming diagnosis and Israel’s subsequent announcement of a “voluntary migration” authority.
Egypt remains committed to aiding Gaza residents and aims to participate in reconstruction projects that could generate substantial economic benefits. However, resettling Gazans, even voluntarily, is entirely different and unacceptable.
From Egypt’s perspective, such plans represent multilayered threats, starting with national security risks. There’s a profound fear that integrating Palestinian refugees could create terror cells targeting not only Israel but also collaborating with extremist organizations already operating within Egypt, exacerbating ongoing battles against militant groups.
According to Bar’el, settling Gazans in Egypt equates nationally to liquidating the Palestinian cause, transferring the issue to Egyptian borders, even if refugees were confined to a specially built city, bringing significant financial incentives. This idea resembles former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s dismissed proposal for temporary Egyptian administration over Gaza.
Egypt has temporarily sheltered around 100,000 Gazans who fled at the war’s onset when the Rafah crossing was open but severely restricts their movement, employment opportunities, and denies them access to UNRWA aid, whose operations in Egypt are limited to a small representation office.
Patients and injured Gazans in Egyptian hospitals reportedly endure restrictive conditions, often purchasing their medications, and their companions’ movements are strictly supervised by security personnel. Egypt strongly rejects any “Trump-style Riviera” scenario for voluntarily migrating refugees.
Egypt’s stance against absorbing Gaza’s population is reinforced by firm opposition from all Arab countries, primarily Saudi Arabia, vehemently opposed to transfer schemes. Witkoff and Trump are fully aware of Riyadh’s position, significantly shaping US Middle Eastern policy. Yet, Witkoff, while discussing potential normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, curiously omitted that any demographic shift in Gaza would collapse under Saudi resistance, ending the normalization dream.
Bar’el concluded by stressing that any Israeli military escalation in Gaza, coupled with “voluntary migration” ideas evolving into operational plans, poses a grave threat. Egypt fears Israel might unilaterally facilitate mass crossings from Gaza, forcing Egypt to either absorb refugees or militarily prevent their entry. Such scenarios would devastate Egypt-Israel relations, precisely the “bad event” Witkoff warned against. Bar’el urged clarity and firmness from Witkoff and Trump, explicitly rejecting any migration plan as neither practical nor acceptable.
