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The issue of Palestinian refugees is one that holds an integral and extremely important part in the memory, identity and culture of the Palestinians. Without a solution for these refugees, the Palestinian issue will still require a solution. The countless refugees and specifically those of the camps have been a source of revolution and uprising, providing resistance and opposition against every kind of oppression and persecution as well as all types of genocide.

The wish and desire to return is something that will never cease amongst the Palestinian people. As such many world leaders have attempted to solve this issue. After the creation of the state Israel, the United States in 1949 wanted to allow for the return of only 200’000 Palestinian refugees and that it will then also be responsible for settling the Palestinians in other parts of the Arab world and assimilating and integrating them their. David Ben Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister at the time refused, and instead offered a deal absolving Israel of all responsibility which was basically the creation of an international fund that Israel was to be part of in providing certain relief aspects for the refugees as well as settling them into other countries.

The Americans and the Europeans reacted to this stubborn approach by the Israelis towards the right of return through the Americans wish to provide assistance by way of humanitarian projects. The deal was meant to be a type of personal reparation to the refugees in an indirect fashion. It did not however provide them any legal rights nor did it return them to him.

There were a number of other proposals that tried to settle the Palestinian people and provide some kind of solution. One of them was the settling of them in the east Egyptian (west of the Red Sea) city of Hurghada. However the Egyptian stance and response was a most dignified and pleasing one; the Egyptian President refused even though the offer as he described was “a most lucrative one”. Yet what are the geographical conditions that Hurghada have that caused for it to be nominated in the first place??

The geological structure of Egypt can be divided into four main sections that are:

1. The Nile valley and Delta. This area is around 33000 km2 which is less than 4% of the Egyptian republics total land mass. The rest of the land mass is around 96% of total Sahara desert. This section begins from the Nile valley from the south and extends all the way up north through the Helfa Valley to the Mediterranean Sea. It is divided into Upper Egypt which is the sa’eed region and Lower Egypt (Nile delta) and this is from the north of Cairo to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile itself which is approximately 1532 km begins from the southern borders of Egypt all the way up to the point where it opens up onto the Mediterranean Sea in the north.

2. The western Sahara; this is around 680000 km2 and is around 68% from the Egyptian republics’ total land mass. It extends from the Nile valley on its eastern section all the way to the Libyan borders on its western section. In it are the great depression areas, the coastal areas too as well as the various oases. It also includes in its southern section the Farafara oasis.

3. The eastern Sahara; this extends for a distance of 86.101 square miles. It begins from the mountains along the Red Sea up until the borders of the Nile Valley. This area is known as the Arabic Sahara. It covers an area of about 225000 km2 which accounts for 28 percent. The area is also unique in the high mountains that overlook the red sea. Some of these mountains reach up to 3000 feet over sea level.

The river Nile separates the two Saharas running between them just as the Red Sea separates between the Holy Hijaz region and Egyptian land. The Eastern Sahara is a continuation of the Hijaz, with the same geological characteristics to be found in both. The western Sahara on the other hand differs completely from the eastern Sahara and has sedimentary rocks as opposed to the eastern Sahara which has Igneous rocks. They hold much in the way of minerals and granite.

It is perfectly clear that the ancient Egyptians used to quarry in this area and had used the eastern Sahara and the Sinai in order to extract precious minerals and stones which is surprising bearing in mind the hard nature of the rocks there. Gold would be excavated from 22 different locations there during the old civilizations and countries whilst now excavation has flourished in Egypt and many discoveries have been made boosting the number of locations to 86; all in the eastern Sahara.

4. The Sinai Peninsula; around 61000 km2 making up around 6.1 percent of the land-space in Egypt it is a triangular configuration with its base in the north and its head in the south. It is sided by the Red Sea, the gulf of Aqaba, and the Suez canal. It is divided into three sections:

1) The southern section and this is a very arid empty area. It consists of Granite mountains that are very high with Mount Catherine reaching 2640 metres above sea level being the tallest mountain peak in Egypt.

2) The Middle section this has many valleys and gradual declines.
3) The Northern section which is between the Mediterranean sea and a depression at the south. It has water resources that come from rain on the mountains and come down towards the ground.

The United Nations development programme UNDP and the eastern Sahara:

Even though there is a very small population living in the area, the UNDP is carrying out some very important projects in the eastern Sahara and specifically in developing the water resources there.

The program aims to identify the various water resources in the area and it uses satellite imagery, geographical projections, actual physical exploration, water tables and certain computer programs to project various outcomes about the water.

The Problem:

* Professor of Geography and a specialist in refugee affairs, Al-Aqsa University