Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani. Photo courtesy of Egyptian cabinet Facebook page.
This announcement was made during a press conference by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani after their meeting in Cairo.
During the presser, FM Abdelatty stressed that "efforts to reach a deal in Gaza are ongoing and will continue with the support of Arab brothers and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as a complete international support for the joint diligent Egyptian-Qatari efforts."
Abdelatty reiterated that "Qatar and Egypt are making sincere, diligent efforts, in coordination with the US, to stop the genocide against the unarmed people of Gaza and end the bloodshed."
He said Cairo rejects any military solutions to the crisis in the Gaza Strip, insisting that a political horizon for peace in the region must be pursued instead.
"The Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts focus on finding peaceful political solutions to regional crises," he affirmed.
Abdelatty also emphasized that both Egypt and Qatar reject any attempts to uproot Palestinians from their homeland, describing displacement as a "red line" that cannot be crossed.
For his part, the Qatari foreign minister described the situation in Gaza as “disgraceful,” condemning the silence of the international community.
"Mediation efforts have now reached a stage where responses are awaited from the Israeli side," he said.
The meeting between the two top diplomats comes more than a week after Hamas accepted a proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators for a 60-day truce/prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the Palestinian group. Israel has yet to deliver an official response to the latest Egyptian-Qatari truce proposal, which it had previously agreed to.
It also comes as the Israeli occupation army intensifies a military campaign to invade Gaza City and ethnically cleanse more than one million Palestinians to the south of the strip.
During the presser, the Qatari top diplomat affirmed that Egypt and Qatar have worked intensively in recent days to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on the exchange of captives and detainees.
He warned that Israel's irresponsible actions jeopardize the security of the whole region.
Furthermore, he reiterated the need for diplomatic solutions to the regional crises, affirming that Egypt and Qatar are committed to resolving the Gaza crisis despite attempts to undermine their efforts.
He also commended Cairo’s efforts in delivering aid to starving Palestinians and highlighted the significant progress in Egyptian-Qatari relations across all levels.
Turning to the situation in Sudan, FM Abdelatty noted that hostilities must stop to preserve the state institutions.
Regarding Iran, the Qatari foreign minister stressed that the Iranian nuclear file is a crucial security issue for all the countries in the region.
Egypt has also reiterated its stance on the Iranian nuclear file several times in recent days, urging a return to diplomatic negotiations.
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