Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that Egypt is exerting tremendous efforts to get Israel and Hamas back to the negotiating table in a last-ditch effort to salvage months of painstaking diplomacy.
The current situation is “completely unacceptable” said Abdelatty during a joint press conference with the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaya Kallas on Sunday. He stressed the need to return to the ceasefire agreement: “This is the only practical and realistic solution under current circumstances, and it is the only deal that guarantees the release of all hostages held by Hamas.”
Abdelatty also warned Israel not to pursue “a policy of starvation”.
Kallas condemned Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, saying: “The EU is ready to contribute and provide aid packages to support Gaza’s reconstruction efforts.”
The death toll from Israel’s new bombing campaign has exceeded 700 since 18 March.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will visit Egypt between 7 and 8 April for talks on the Arab plan for the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. He added that the EU fully supports the plan proposed by Egypt to reach a two-state solution.
Kallas also noted Hamas cannot play any role in the future government of Gaza, a point he said the Arab plan does not address.
In response, Abdelatty said that under the Egyptian plan no Palestinian faction will have a role in governing Gaza Strip during the six-month transitional period. Instead, “an independent Palestinian committee will assume control, after which the Palestinian Authority will be in charge of administering the enclave.”
He explained that the committee will comprise 15 independent technocrats from Gaza whose primary mission will be to govern the Strip for six months, in conjunction with the re-empowerment of the Palestinian Authority to allow Palestinian government departments and police forces to deploy on the ground. Coordination with the United Nations to deploy an international UN-led force to help maintain order during the transitional period is ongoing.
Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanou said that “Hamas has no ambition to administer the enclave and has already approved the Egyptian plan provided that an independent committee be created to take control of Gaza.”
Al-Qanou’s statement came after US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff told the US media that Hamas rule in Gaza is unacceptable, and Washington is working to find a diplomatic solution. “Hamas is an idea that cannot be eliminated,” he said, “but it cannot be part of the future governance of Gaza.”
Witkoff also said Egypt is facing a dire economic situation which could be leveraged to encourage it to accept US President Donald Trump’s displacement deal.
During a phone call on Monday, Abdelatty and Witkoff discussed de-escalation in Gaza and Egypt’s economic situation. Abdelatty stressed Egypt’s strong economic performance. Last week, Witkoff claimed that “Egypt is largely broke and that unemployment among those under 25 is around 45 per cent. They need a lot of help and if we have a bad event in Egypt, it could set us back significantly.”
According to official data, Egypt’s unemployment rate stood at just 6.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 6.7 per cent in the third quarter.
Over the past few weeks, Egypt has reiterated its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, saying to do so would liquidate the Palestinian cause and “threaten Egypt’s national security”, according to a statement issued by the State Information Service on Monday.
The statement added that Egypt’s foreign policy has never been based on “bargaining” national or Arab interests for compensation.
The online Times of Israel quoted Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper’s claim that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi told Arab leaders during the Arab Summit in Cairo on 4 March that he is willing to temporarily relocate half a million residents from Gaza to northern Sinai as part of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tamim Khallaf said in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on 22 March that “there is no alternative to a ceasefire agreement to achieve calm in Gaza.”
“Egypt is heavily involved in constructive communications with the US administration and US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and discussions are positive,” Khallaf continued.
“Progress on a ceasefire depends on international pressure on Israel” which Khallaf accused of pursuing an “isolationist” and “obstructionist” policy.
He condemned Israel’s latest military escalation as a “flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”, warning that it constitutes a “dangerous development” with “grave repercussions”, and described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”.
“It is absolutely reprehensible that the state of Israel is violating international law and its responsibility as an occupying force to provide humanitarian aid to the population in Gaza.”
On Gaza’s post-war future, Khallaf outlined Egypt’s three-phase reconstruction plan, endorsed by all 22 members of the Arab League, saying the plan is “doable… operationally reasonable and gaining international recognition” despite initial hesitation from the White House and Israel’s rejection.
“If there are any proposals or comments our American partners would like to make, we will take them into account and consider them with an open mind,” Khallaf said.
Khallaf also insisted normalisation between Israel and Arab states depends on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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