CAIRO: Egypt rejects any scenario related to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that results in the displacement of the latter from their lands, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said, as he called for the UN to play a greater part in efforts to resolve the crisis in Gaza.
His comments came during a meeting of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza, which took place on the sidelines of the high-level meetings of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sunday.
Tamim Khallaf, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates, said Abdelatty discussed Israeli violations in the Occupied Territories, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The minister said the current crisis is the result of years of Israeli practices designed to entrench an illegal occupation, seize land from its rightful owners, and impose a new demographic reality.
He emphasized the need to highlight the obstacles that are preventing a ceasefire agreement that could halt the Israeli aggression in Gaza and facilitate the delivery of aid to residents there, as well as the need to address the root causes of the crisis by reviving efforts to implement a two-state solution, to avoid the danger of the conflict escalating into a regionwide war.
Abdelatty additionally discussed with fellow committee members ways in which their efforts and the messages they convey during the General Assembly might be unified, both collectively and through meetings among individual committee members.
The ministry said committee members also considered ways in which support can be provided to the Palestinian people, in particular economic and financial assistance to help the Palestinian Authority address the challenges caused by the ongoing occupation. They emphasized the important need to assist in efforts to build the capacities of national institutions and reinforce the foundations on which a Palestinian state will be established.
Abdelatty discussed during the meeting several proposals for action from within the UN in support of Palestinian rights. They included an examination of ways in which resolutions issued by the UN Security Council and the General Assembly are implemented, and calls for UN organizations to play a greater role in efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The minister noted the obstacles that hinder such efforts, the need to support the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, and the importance of engaging at all levels, both within the UN and through talks with the wider international community, in efforts to ensure the rules of international law and international humanitarian law are enforced to help protect the Palestinian people.
Abdelatty affirmed that Egypt’s efforts to mediate during the conflict and to ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza will continue. He also discussed with committee members ways in which the peace process might be advanced, once again emphasizing that any post-war framework must be based on a two-state solution that establishes a contiguous and connected State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
