Sisi thanks Biden for endorsing Egyptian Gaza-Israel ceasefire initiative

CAIRO – 20 May 2021: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi thanked Joe Biden, the US president, for his efforts to endorse the Egyptian ceasefire initiative in Palestine, which came into effect on 2 A.M. local time.

Egypt has brokered a ceasefire agreement to end the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 200 Palestinians including women and children over the past 11 days.

The ceasefire is mutual and unconditional and also requires Palestinian groups in Gaza, who have been firing rockets at Israel in response to the Israeli assaults, to abide by ceasefire.

“I received with great pleasure the phone call from US President Joe Biden, during which we exchanged visions on reaching a formulation for pacification of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip.”

“The visions [we shared] were aligned on the necessity to manage the conflict between all parties with diplomatic means, the matter which affirms the depth and strength of the strategic relations between Egypt and the United States.”

“While I look forward to enhancing the relations between our two countries and achieving further mutual interests … I pay tribute to the US President Biden for his role in making the Egyptian initiative to cease fire and achieve de-escalation a success”.

“I hope that cooperation between us continues to achieve further mutual successes that would establish fair and comprehensive peace in the region.”

Biden also thanked Sisi and hailed the efforts exerted by the Egyptian senior politicians to reach a ceasefire in Gaza in remarks on Thursday night from the White house.

“I extend my sincere gratitude to president El-Sisi and the senior Egyptian officials who played such a critical role in this diplomacy”, Biden said.

He added that he “appreciates the contributions of other parties in the region who have been engaged in working toward the end of hostilities.”

“These hostilities have resulted in the tragic deaths of so many civilians, including children. And I send my sincere condolences to all the families, Israeli and Palestinian who have lost loved ones and my hope for a full recovery for the wounded” Biden said.