Press Release
Displacement of Al-Arish Residents is a Political Crime Disguised as Development
While the regime in Egypt talks about "developing the port of Al-Arish" and turning it into an international port and linking it to the new economic corridor project, a real crime is being committed against the people of the Al-Reesa neighborhood in Al-Arish, where people are forced to leave their homes under the weight of bulldozers, and their homes are demolished under the pretext of public benefit against their will, with the psychological pressure and bargains they are subjected to that are not befitting of human dignity, in addition to being contrary to the provisions of Islam.
This scene is not new in Sinai. Its people have been accustomed for years to the state's behavior towards them as if they were strangers in their own country. Their land is taken away, their houses are removed, all kinds of care are denied to them, they are prevented from urban expansion, and they are treated security-wise, not civilly, until they live in a shadow area, deprived of their rights, and always accused before the state. Their complaints are not heard, and their grievances are not addressed.
According to field reports issued during July 2025, the Egyptian state began the fourth and fifth phases of demolition operations in the Al-Reesa neighborhood located within the geographical scope of the port of Al-Arish. This stage included the removal of existing and inhabited houses, without the consent of their owners, who protested in front of their homes and refused to sign eviction documents, but they were eventually forced to leave after security pressures, and some of them were even intimidated and warned against escalation.
Despite the state's statements that it provides "generous compensation" or "housing alternatives", these compensations do not equal the real value of the properties, neither in terms of price, nor in terms of the strategic location overlooking the sea, nor in terms of the community life they have built over decades. In addition, it came after a threat, not after a dialogue, and after a unilateral decision, not after consent and acceptance.
Independent press reports revealed that these removals are carried out under the direct supervision of the armed forces, as part of a plan to transform the port into a sovereign military zone, which means that residents do not have the right to legal objection, because the area is classified as a "public benefit", and therefore expropriation has become a right of the state according to positive law.
But the most important question here is not only in the law, but in the Sharia: Does the state have the right to forcibly remove people from their homes? Is it permissible under Sharia for private property to be converted into public property under the pretext of development? Does Sharia allow such organized displacement?
Islam has made private property one of the three inviolable things that cannot be violated. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Every Muslim is inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth, and his honor." Private property in Islam is protected and cannot be touched, and the state may not seize a person's ownership of his land or house except with his consent and choice, and for clear legitimate reasons.
There is no such thing in Sharia as a "public benefit" by which the state forfeits people's property without their consent. This is a concept from Western capitalist systems that place the state above the people, and give it the right to expropriate property if it deems it "beneficial" to society.
The state's conversion of private property into public property is void under Sharia, because God Almighty is the one who determines the type of ownership, not the state. God Almighty said: ﴿And do not deprive people of their due﴾ It is not permissible to convert private property into public property, nor into state property, so trespassing against it is a violation of a Sharia ruling.
Islam forbids any manipulation of the type of ownership under the pretext of interest or public benefit, and made the authority to dispose of it in the hands of Sharia, not in the hands of the ruler. God is the real owner, and people are successors in their property. It is not permissible to remove their hand from it except by a Sharia ruling. If a Muslim owns a house or land in a legitimate way, no one, individual or state, has the right to deprive him of his right in it, even under the pretext of expanding a port or a development project. Rather, the duty is to respect this property, and to look for legitimate solutions that do not violate anyone's right.
What is happening in Al-Arish is a direct application of the capitalist system in its ugliest forms, and it is a flagrant violation of the provisions of Islam regarding money, property, and authority. The state in this system sees people only as numbers, and sees land only as an investment opportunity, and presents "development" at the expense of dignity and rights. Forcing Muslims out of their homes and demolishing their property without their consent, even if it seems legal according to the Egyptian system, is forbidden under Sharia, and is even considered a political crime because it is injustice and aggression against the sanctity of Muslims.
The transformation of Al-Arish port into an international port subject to military sovereignty, and the annexation of vast lands from the city of Al-Arish to this project, raises questions about the real goals behind this transformation: Is it really for the sake of the economy? Or is it a pre-emptive preparation to accommodate the people of Gaza, as suggested by international projects and previous visions of the Jewish entity?
The duty of the people of Sinai is to reject this injustice, to denounce this unjust policy, and to demand their rights not through appeals, but by striving to change this unjust system from its roots, and to establish a system that establishes the religion and preserves their rights.
O sincere ones in the army of Kinana: What is happening in Sinai under your watch is a full-fledged crime, and God will ask you about it and about the oppressed because of it, after you failed the people of Gaza and were the regime's hand that besieges them with. By God, ranks, salaries, medals and privileges that the regime offers you as a bribe to buy your silence and guarantee your loyalty will not benefit you, while the nation is being suppressed by you. So prepare your answer, for the reckoning is heavy and you have no provision for it yet, except a sincere repentance to God with which you uproot this regime, lift its injustice from the people, end its siege of the people of the blessed land, and support those who are working to implement Islam by establishing the Rightly Guided Caliphate on the Prophetic method. This is the way to your salvation, and there is no other way, no matter what you do. It is an honor, so let no one precede you to it. Hasten, may God accept your repentance, improve your return, and write victory at your hands, so you will have the glory of this world and the dignity of the Hereafter. You will remember what we tell you, and we entrust our affair to God.
﴿And what is [the matter] with you that you do not fight in the cause of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper"?﴾
The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
In the Wilayah of Egypt