Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will skip White House talks if U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda includes plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said Wednesday.
In a call between Trump and el-Sissi on Feb. 1, the U.S. president extended an open invitation to his Egyptian counterpart to visit the White House, the Egyptian presidency previously said. No date has been set for any such visit, a U.S. official said.
The Egyptian presidency and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump has infuriated the Arab world with a plan to permanently displace the population of more than 2 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claim U.S. control of Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East." He has demanded Egypt and Jordan take in the Palestinians who would be expelled.
He discussed the plan during a visit by Jordanian King Abdullah to the White House on Tuesday, where the monarch appeared uncomfortable.
Egypt, one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid, shares a border with the Gaza Strip. Sisi has repeatedly said that Egypt would never participate in a large displacement of Palestinians across the border.
