Against the backdrop of escalating Israeli attacks on Southern Lebanon and its continued war on Gaza that entered its second year on Monday, with no sign of any ceasefire any time soon, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi this week repeatedly warned about the consequences of ongoing military escalation in the region and the continued violation of the rights of the Palestinian people.
“The Palestinian people have the right to live in an independent state side by side with the state of Israel,” Al-Sisi said on Tuesday. He added that once Palestinian statehood is secured, the entire region could look to “serious horizons of peace and cooperation”.
Meanwhile, throughout the week, Al-Sisi repeatedly cautioned against the possibility of an all-out war that would affect each and every country in the region.
During a phone call with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati this week, Al-Sisi underlined the urgent necessity for an “immediate, comprehensive, and permanent ceasefire” in both Lebanon and Gaza.
The president reiterated during the call Egypt’s unwavering support for Lebanon during this critical period, condemning any threats to Lebanese security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity
He cautioned anew that the failure of the international community to the aggression against Palestinian territories and Lebanon could lead the region into dangerous repercussions that pose a genuine threat to regional and international peace and stability.
Mikati, for his part, expressed gratitude for Egypt’s support for Lebanon, highlighting his government’s efforts to de-escalate the situation.
Al-Sisi also highlighted his country’s commitment to following a rather balanced, moderate, and objective policy in a way that preserves Egypt and the region especially amid the current conditions on its western, southern, and eastern borders.
However, he warned in his address to the 2024 graduation ceremony of cadets at the Police Academy last week that if these conditions persist, they could lead to severe consequences for the region and the world.
The president described the present situation in the region as “serious and could expand the conflict in the region, impacting stability.”
However, he highlighted that Egypt was working to “end conflicts rather than escalate them”. Egypt’s foreign policy, the president asserted several times, is about balance, moderation, and commitment to avoid escalating conflicts.
Meanwhile, Egypt welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s call to halt exporting arms to Israel intended for use in Gaza, because of the serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Israeli military in Gaza and Lebanon.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry called on the international community to follow Macron’s call and repeated its demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty recently held a series of meetings and phone calls to work to contain the dangerous, present situation.
In a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, he highlighted the importance of quick intervention to contain the present situation and called on the various parties to espouse self-restraint to spare the area a regional war that will have devastating consequences.
For nearly a year, Egypt held a series of meetings with Israeli and Hamas officials in the presence of US and Qatari officials in the hope of securing a deal that would stop the war, reach a permanent ceasefire, and arrange for the release of captives. But after the recent escalations, the meetings stopped together with all hopes of ending the war. There is no confirmation as to when ceasefire negotiations would resume.
Abdelatty also re-emphasised Egypt’s firm rejection of any violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty during another phone call with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday. He called for an immediate ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza and stressed the importance of empowering the Lebanese army to ensure Lebanon’s stability during this critical time.
On Gaza, Abdelatty denounced the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, reiterating the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza and the need to put pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid and relief into the Strip.
Abdelatty reiterated the same concerns and calls during his meeting with the Jordanian foreign minister and a phone call with his Moroccan counterpart, both regional countries that are likely to be affected by the latest escalation, especially Jordan.
Thus, both Abdelatty and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi called for an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and Gaza, warning of the catastrophic threats to regional and international peace and security.
Both top diplomats reaffirmed that Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, as well as illegal escalation measures in the West Bank, are pushing the region towards a full-scale regional conflict.
They also highlighted the importance of backing Lebanon’s efforts to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and redeploy the Lebanese army in the southern regions.
Egypt reiterated the same concerns ever since tensions escalated in the Middle East after 7 October last year. However, the situation recently worsened after a war between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah broke out, resulting in the assassination of many Hizbullah leaders, including the group’s chief since 1992, Hassan Nasrallah, late last month.
Israel’s military offensive against Lebanon seems to be continuing, raising the danger of further regional escalation in the war after Tehran had vowed to avenge the death of Nasrallah.
Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has killed at least 41,825 people and wounded more than 100,000, most of them women and children, according to figures provided by the Strip’s Health Ministry.
And with the growing anticipation over an Israeli strike against Iranian targets, Abdelatty called his Iranian counterpart on Monday to share Cairo’s deep concern that the escalating conflict in the region could expand to a region-wide war with dire consequences for regional and international peace and stability.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 10 October, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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