Sisi urges int'l pressure to implement humanitarian truce in Gaza

Radwa ElSayed Hani , Tuesday 21 Nov 2023

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi renewed Tuesday Egypt's calls for the international community to pressure Israel, as an occupying power, to implement the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2712, which was adopted on 15 November.

Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi
Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi addresses leaders during the virtual summit of the BRICS group, 21 November 2023.
 

El-Sisi's remarks came as he addressed an extraordinary virtual summit of the BRICS group, which was held to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing Israeli war.

El-Sisi affirmed Egypt's support for international efforts to reach a ceasefire and protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, foremost of which is the UNSC resolution calling for truces and humanitarian corridors across the strip.

The president added that the entire strip has been facing collective punishment, siege, starvation, and pressure toward a forced displacement.

"These cruel scenes have revealed the inadequacy of the international community and the stagnation of human conscience," he said.

Furthermore, El-Sisi affirmed that Egypt has condemned the killing of civilians by all parties, especially the targeting of hospitals.

He emphasized that the international community bears a humanitarian and political responsibility to save Gazan civilians and to stop these inhuman practices, which force people to leave their homes and lands.

El-Sisi said that Egypt is making all efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians. "Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing from the first moment to bring humanitarian aid into the strip," he noted.

Moreover, the Egyptian President added that Egypt has designated El-Arish Airport to receive aid from across the world, stressing that it is the Israeli authorities, not Egypt, which has obstructed their delivery.

"What aid enters Gaza is much less than the needs of its people," he said.

During his speech, El-Sisi stressed that Egypt rejects any attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinians, inside or outside Gaza, considering it as a grave violation of international law.

"The proposals for Israel's reoccupation of the Gaza Strip will only aggravate and complicate the situation," he said, addressing leaders at the BRICS summit.

Egypt's president mentioned that the international community wrongly stands silent on the violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as daily military incursions there by the Israeli army, all of which are unacceptable policies that stoke regional tensions.

During the summit, El-Sisi highlighted Egypt's current priorities: stop the bloodshed through an immediate ceasefire, safe access to humanitarian aid, and stop the targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The President also stressed the necessity of resolving the root causes of the conflict by allowing Palestinians to establish an independent state within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

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