Shoukry says Ramallah visit aims to support Palestinians, ensure continuation of ceasefire

Ahram Online , Monday 24 May 2021

Shoukry asserted that all acts that undermine chances for peace and renew escalation, including in East Jerusalem, should be stopped

Sameh Shoukry and Mahmoud Abbas
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, during his meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday May 24, 2021. Photo courtesy of Egypt foreign ministry twitter

In a visit to the West Bank on Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas the importance of reviving the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians as the ceasefire continues.

Shoukry landed in Ramallah on Monday for a visit meant to build on the recent Cairo-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which ended an 11-day Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza.

The FM asserted that all acts that undermine chances for peace and renew escalation, including in East Jerusalem, should be stopped, according to a statement by foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez.

The hoped-for negotiation track, according to Shouky, should be "serious" and lead to a "comprehensive and just peace" that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Hafez added that Shoukry’s visit aims to support the Palestinians and continue to firm up the ceasefire to achieve "comprehensive and sustainable calm."

Shoukry asserted that reviving the peace negotiation is the only way out to reach the two-state solution and achieve peace.

The visit also focused on continued coordination on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and providing developmental support for the Palestinian territories.

Egypt has allocated $500 million as part of an initiative for the reconstruction of the strip, whose infrastructure was devastated by the Israeli airstrikes.

The Palestinian president expressed thanks and appreciation for the Egyptian initiative as well as Egypt's efforts to de-escalate the situation in the Gaza strip.

"These [moves] reflect Egypt's significance at the Arab, regional and international levels, as well as its historical role in support of the Palestinian cause and as defender of Arab rights," he added.

Shoukry’s visit to Ramallah comes hours after he had discussed with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman stabilising a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions and creating a climate conducive to the urgent revival of the peace negotiations to reach a comprehensive political settlement for the Palestinian crisis.

The foreign minister's visit comes as an Egypt-sponsored ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions since Friday continues to hold.

Egyptian mediators were dispatched to Tel Aviv and the Palestinian territories to follow up on the implementation of the ceasefire.

The 11-day fighting was deemed the most vicious since 2014 as Israel upped aggression on Gaza with artillery and airstrikes in response to rocket attacks on Israeli towns from the Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.

Some 248 people were killed in Gaza, while the death toll in Israel stood at 13.

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