Ibrahim al-Arjani is a Bedouin businessman.
Biography
editIbrahim al-Arjani was born in Sheikh Zuweid in the northern Sinai peninsula in Egypt. He is a member of the Tarabin Bedouin tribe. [1]
Business career
editIn 2021, he founded Hala Consulting and Tourism, a company that handles the move of residents of Gaza to Egypt and helps resettle them. According to the Arabi21 website, Hala was established to provide "VIP travel services" from Gaza to Egypt.[2]
Al-Arjani owns a number of tourism, vehicle and food companies. He is a member of the Sinai Development Foundation. Prior to the war in Gaza, he was appointed head of a neighborhood renewal project in the Gaza Strip that has since been put on hold.[3]
Al-Arjani has been dubbed "King of the Crossing," reflecting his influential position at the crossing at Rafah.[4]
Al-Arjani is head of the Arab Tribes Union (ATU) which represents Egyptian Bedouins living in Sinai.[5]According to Al-Arjani, the ATU alliance was "created out of a sense of national responsibility and reflects the growing role of Sinai’s Arab tribes in preserving the national security of Egypt’s borders."[4]
In 2024, a gated area surrounded by 7-meter-high walls south of Rafah was commissioned by Al-Arjani in preparation for an influx of citizens of the Gaza Strip.[6]
Al-Arjani is a close friend of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.[5]
References
edit- ^ A new Sinai battle? Bedouin Tribes and Egypt’s ISIS Affiliate, Atlantic Council
- ^ Zbeedat, Nagham. "Palestinians Outraged as Egyptian Firm 'Makes Millions' Getting Refugees Out of Gaza". Haaretz.
- ^ Perry, Smadar (2024-04-29). "'We hate Hamas like we hate Israel': the Palestinians who managed to flee Gaza". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ a b "Tribes unite - Egypt - Al-Ahram Weekly - Ahram Online".
- ^ a b For Gazans who fled to Egypt dream of refuge turning into a nightmare, Haaretz
- ^ Sinai Foundation for Human Rights: Egypt to create a gated high-security area in the reception of Palestinian refugees from Gaza