Employees from the Agrarian Reform Directorate in Giza Governorate informed residents of the islands of Qursaya and Dahab that there are government directives to write minutes against the island’s residents on charges of trespassing on the Nile.
Assistant Minister of Housing for Technical Affairs, Abdel-Khaleq Ibrahim, said that the government has drawn up detailed plans to develop the two islands, similar to what is currently happening on Al-Warraq Island. Security forces had released 23 Al-Warraq Island residents who had been arrested for resisting home demolitions. Hundreds of Al-Warraq Island residents demonstrated against the government’s ongoing attempts to displace them from their homes to implement tourism projects on the island. They also demonstrated in solidarity with 35 residents facing prison sentences of up to 25 years on charges dating back to the 2017 clashes between the police and residents. They demanded the release of detainees, a reduction in the presence of security forces on the island, and the restoration of public services that had cut off. They also called on the authorities to stop demolishing their homes and not evict them.
The Council of Ministers has issued a statement saying that about 71% of Al-Warraq Island has become owned by the Urban Communities Authority, in light of objections to what was described by opponents as oppressive practices against the island’s residents. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has stressed the importance of working to implement the island’s development plan, which aims to “upgrade this promising area and benefit from its unique location, to improve the quality of life and implement development projects.” Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem Al-Jazzar has stated that 888.65 acres of the island’s area, which amounts to about 1,295.5 acres, have become within the possession of the Urban Communities Authority.
