2024-01-12 12:44:41
Egyptian-American agreement to reject attempts to “displace Palestinians”
Egypt and America agreed to “reject the principle or attempts to displace Palestinians from their lands,” and Cairo and Washington affirmed (Thursday) “the continuation of intensive consultation on the current situation and communication with various parties.” To advance efforts to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and prevent the expansion of the conflict. “Summit discussions” that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in Cairo (Thursday), confirmed “adherence to the path of the two-state solution as a basis for achieving stability in the region.”
Egypt has witnessed intense diplomatic activity over the past few days. In order to advance efforts towards ending the war in the Gaza Strip, at a time when the Egyptian mediation regarding stopping the fighting and exchanging “prisoners” between Israel and the Palestinian factions is facing “difficulties” in the wake of the assassination of the Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, Saleh Al-Arouri.
The Egyptian President and Blinken affirmed their adherence to the path of the two-state solution (Egyptian Presidency)
Calm down the situation
According to a statement by the Egyptian presidential spokesman, Ahmed Fahmy, (Thursday), the US Secretary of State, during the meeting with Sisi, noted the continuing Egyptian efforts to “calm down the situation in the region and consolidate peace and stability,” while the Egyptian President affirmed “his country’s keenness to continue coordination with Washington in a way that serves “In the interest of regional security and stability.”
Sisi and Blinken’s discussions dealt with the regional situation, especially in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories, where the US Secretary of State was keen to inform the Egyptian President of the developments of his expanded tour in the region, and to listen to Egypt’s vision regarding the prospects for a solution.
Blinken’s visit to Cairo came as the last stop of his Middle Eastern tour, the day following the tripartite “Aqaba Summit” that brought together Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which agreed to “reject any efforts, attempts, or proposals aimed at liquidating the Palestinian issue.” Or (displacing Palestinians) outside their lands,” as well as rejecting “any attempts to reoccupy parts of Gaza, and emphasizing the necessity of enabling the people of the Gaza Strip to return to their homes.”
Ceasefire
According to the Egyptian Presidency’s statement, the meeting between Sisi and Blinken in Cairo (Thursday) witnessed a presentation of Egyptian efforts to communicate with all parties. With the aim of “reaching an immediate ceasefire and ensuring the access of humanitarian aid.”
In this regard, Al-Sisi stressed “the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to implement the relevant UN resolutions, so that aid is brought in in sufficient quantities to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip and save the people of Gaza from the enormous suffering they are subjected to, with the need for the truce efforts to result in a just and comprehensive settlement of the issue.” Palestinian Authority, in a way that addresses the roots of the current situation, enables the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights, and achieves security, development, and prosperity for all the peoples of the region.
Egyptian trucks carrying aid to the Gaza Strip following undergoing security inspection at the Kerem Shalom crossing (EPA)
Humanitarian aid
169 trucks crossed the Rafah border crossing in North Sinai (Thursday) to the “Al-Auja” and “Karam Abu Salem” crossings in preparation for their delivery to the Gaza Strip. An official Egyptian source reported, according to the official Middle East News Agency in Egypt, that “the trucks are loaded with large quantities of humanitarian and relief aid, medicines and medical supplies,” noting that “the Rafah crossing also received 25 injured Palestinians from hospitals in the Gaza Strip for treatment in hospitals.” Egyptian, in addition to 250 people holding foreign and Egyptian passports.”
For his part, Blinken said, in statements before leaving Cairo, that rapprochement between Arab countries and Israel is “the best way to isolate Iran.” He added, “Israel’s security and its integration (in the region) are linked to opening a path toward establishing a Palestinian state.” He explained, according to what was reported by the French News Agency (Thursday), that “a Palestinian state in order to isolate and marginalize Iran. The vision is clear, but we must move forward with it.”
Blinken tour
According to Bloomberg News Agency (Tuesday), Blinken “pressured Israel to limit civilian deaths and injuries in Gaza,” and also called on Tel Aviv during her visit to “focus on its relations with Arab countries.” Blinken visited Israel as part of a tour in the Middle East, which included Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the Emirates, the West Bank, and Egypt. On Tuesday, Blinken met in Tel Aviv with the families of the American hostages being held in Gaza. He stressed at the time that “returning all hostages to their families is a top priority for the American administration,” and Blinken also discussed the hostage issue with the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet agencies in Israel.
On the other hand, the Hamas movement refuses to release its detainees except “on its terms,” according to what was announced by the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, who reiterated during his participation in a conference in Qatar (Tuesday), “They (Israel) will never recover their hostages, unless If all of our prisoners in the occupation prisons are released.” The Palestinian factions have repeatedly affirmed that they “refuse to negotiate temporary truces, and that they insist on a complete ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners according to the principle of (all for all),” following the Israeli military operation has so far failed to liberate them by force or force Hamas to release them. Military prisoners, who are the most important category for Tel Aviv.
Members of the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance teams transport an injured Palestinian to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital (Archyde.com)
Protection of civilians
In another Egyptian move to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and ensure the flow of aid to the Palestinians, the Egyptian President stressed, during a phone call (Thursday) with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, “the responsibility of the international community to ensure the access of relief aid to the people of the Strip to end their long-standing humanitarian suffering.” .
According to the Egyptian presidency’s statement, the phone call discussed developments in the regional scene in light of the current conditions in the Gaza Strip, where the ongoing movements and communications were reviewed to push “towards a ceasefire, the protection of civilians, and the exchange of detainees.” The phone call also touched on the situation in the Red Sea region and navigation security, where “the importance of intensified work was stressed to avoid expanding the circle of conflict in the region, and to enhance security and stability factors at the regional level.”
Sisi, the Jordanian king, and Abbas during a tripartite summit in Aqaba (Egyptian presidency)
The Egyptian proposal
Cairo had previously presented a proposed framework consisting of 3 stages for a ceasefire in Gaza as part of political mediation efforts. An informed Egyptian source said, in recent statements, that “there is no alternative to the negotiating path to resolve the crisis in the Gaza Strip.” He stressed at the time that if Egypt did not mediate, “the crisis may intensify and worsen beyond the estimates of all parties.”
During summit discussions in Cairo, a few days ago, Al-Sisi and Abbas called on the international community and active forces to “exercise the highest levels of responsibility, historical, political and humanitarian, to work towards a just and comprehensive settlement, which includes establishing and recognizing an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 4.” In 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, it is also considered the primary guarantor of security and stability in the region. They affirmed at the time “the rejection of any efforts or attempts aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause or (displacing Palestinians) outside their lands in any way.”
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