The new Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdel Aty, confirmed today, Thursday, the continuation of Cairo's efforts to reach a deal to stop the fire and to exchange hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas. This is the minister's first comment on the Gaza war after the new government's swearing-in ceremony yesterday, Wednesday.
During a phone call with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, Abdel Aty warned about "the danger of unilateral Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank, specifically the ongoing settlement expansion and increased campaigns of arrests and systematic incursions into Palestinian villages and cities."
The Egyptian minister called for pressure on Israel to stop the war and to commit to implementing the Security Council resolutions and the International Court of Justice's rulings. Abdel Aty explained that "the resumption of operations at the Rafah crossing depends on the Israeli willingness to withdraw from the crossing and accept the return of the Palestinian Authority to manage it, as well as establishing rules for disengagement to facilitate the work of UN organizations and provide protection for humanitarian workers."
He emphasized the need to "pressure Israel to open more crossings with Gaza in line with its responsibilities as the occupying power," reiterating the importance of an immediate ceasefire and adherence to international legitimacy and the respect of international law and humanitarian law, alongside ongoing international efforts to allow larger quantities of humanitarian aid to enter into the Gaza Strip.
Wennesland noted that "the current relief efforts represent the most challenging for the United Nations in decades," warning that "failure to overcome the current challenges could pose a significant threat to the two-state solution," which Israel fundamentally rejects.
