Egyptian militia leader Organi unveils plans for ‘Sisi City’ at Israel border

Just 15km from Rafah, the war-torn Gaza city packed with desperate and hungry Palestinians, a new city is planned to rise in Egypt. It will be named after Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian president who for years has helped impose a blockade on the coastal enclave.

Sisi City was announced by businessman and Sinai militia leader Ibrahim al-Organi on Wednesday, and is scheduled to be built on the site of al-Arjaa, a village in southern Rafah adjacent to the Egypt-Israel border.

Organi has been under scrutiny since the Israeli war on Gaza began, due to the exorbitant fees his companies charge Palestinians fleeing the war to Egypt, and to aid trucks entering the enclave.

One of his firms, Hala, may have earned at least $118m from Palestinian refugees in the past three months, Middle East Eye revealed.

Organi is also the owner of construction company Sons of Sinai, which is the main contractor hired by the Egyptian state for housing projects in the peninsula.

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