The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has postponed his planned visit to Cairo indefinitely, an American official told the Times of Israel on Sunday.
The decision came only hours after a US Embassy spokesperson in Tel Aviv, quoted by The New York Times, said Huckabee was preparing for a “rare” trip to Cairo. It would have marked the first official visit to Egypt in decades by a US ambassador accredited to Israel while in office.
Huckabee, a vocal supporter of Israel, was expected to discuss contentious issues in Egyptian-Israeli relations and President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Gaza war, as well as meet with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, according to the US paper.
Tensions between Cairo and Tel Aviv have escalated recently over the ongoing war in Gaza, with Israeli media reporting that government officials have expressed concern to Washington about an Egyptian military build-up in Sinai.
Cairo, however, stressed its forces were deployed solely to secure its borders and reiterated its commitment to maintaining the agreement, rejecting Israeli accusations that the moves violated the 1979 peace treaty.
Egypt considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies toward Gaza, particularly proposals for the displacement of Palestinians toward Sinai, to be a direct threat to its national security. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has also warned Israel against actions that could undermine the peace accord.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu publicly criticized Egypt for refusing to accept Palestinians from Gaza, recently accusing Cairo of “imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone.” Cairo condemned the statement, calling it an attempt by the Israeli Prime Minister to avoid confronting the consequences of Israeli violations in the Strip, while asserting its firm position against the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.
This wasn’t the first time Netanyahu had spoken of displacing Palestinians; he had previously said he wanted to achieve Trump’s vision of moving a large number of them through what Netanyahu described as “voluntary migration.”
In late January, the US president urged both Egypt and Jordan to accept displaced residents from Gaza, a call that was met with outright rejection by both countries and faced international criticism. Human rights groups denounced the permanent transfer of Palestinians from the Strip, describing it as ethnic cleansing.
In March, Israel’s security cabinet approved an army proposal to establish a “voluntary” exit agency for Gazans expressing interest in moving to a third country, in accordance with the provisions of Israeli and international law and Trump’s vision. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said at the time, “We will enable any Gazan who wishes to relocate voluntarily to do so.”
Israel has floated similar resettlement schemes with African nations. In mid-August, the Associated Press reported that Israel was in talks with South Sudan over relocating Palestinians from Gaza, a claim denied by Juba, which said the allegations had no basis in its official policy.
