Egypt: Palestinian and Jordanian workers are a threat to national security

Egypt has suddenly decided that Jordanian and Palestinian employees in the telecommunications and petrol sectors pose a threat to Egypt’s national security.

A number of Jordanian and Palestinians employees expressed their anger after Egyptian companies decided not to renew their work permits without any warning.

Telecom Misr Company summoned its Jordanian employees and told them that the Egyptian Authorities had refused to renew their work permits because of alleged security concerns.

According to the company’s managers, the authorities told them that Jordanian employees working in the telecommunications and petrol sectors are now perceived to be a threat to Egypt’s national security.

The Jordanian employees, who reported the news, explained that they had served in the company for more than six years.

The employees said that they attempted to contact Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, but failed to reach any of its officials. However, a spokesperson for the ministry told Today’s Opinion newspaper that the ministry did not receive any complaints in this regard.

Spokesperson Sabah Al-Rafee explained that the ministry contacted the Jordanian Consulate in Cairo, which affirmed that it did not receive any complaints.

Al-Rafee said that he is ready to follow up this problem, if it truly exists, personally.

There are around one million Egyptians working in Jordan, while the number of Jordanians in Egypt is much lower.