World governments welcome Egyptian Gaza-Israel ceasefire initiative

CAIRO - 21 May 2021: Since the announcement of the Egyptian Gaza-Israel ceasefire initiative on Thursday evening, several world governments welcomed the agreement that brought an end to the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip after killing more than 200 Palestinians including women and children over 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 the ceasefire.

In a statement on Friday, Bahrain's Foreign Ministry hailed the key international efforts which helped halt military actions and paved the way for political negotiations to restore security and stability in the Gaza Strip.

The ministry asserted the importance of continuing international efforts to solve the Palestinian issue as per the two-state solution and to establish comprehensive peace in the Middle East region.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that the ceasefire is an important step, but it is not sufficient to end violence, collective action should be continued to create suitable conditions for the resumption of negotiations, Reported TASS News Agency Friday.

At this stage, international and regional efforts should focus on creating appropriate circumstances that would help resume direct political negotiations.

Since the beginning of the11-day crisis, the Russian diplomacy got engaged in active action to swiftly stop hostilities, she noted.

"Pakistan welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire," Geo News quoted Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as saying in a tweet Friday.

"This is the power of collective, unified action; this is the effort of every person and every nation, together for a just cause."

The foreign minister also prayed for abiding peace for Palestinians. "May this ceasefire be the 1st step towards peace in Palestine," he said.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Israel’s occupation of Palestine must end and illegal settlements and the apartheid-like regime imposed in the occupied territories must be dismantled.

He also underscored the need for implementing the United Nations resolution for the establishment of an independent and contiguous Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The Pakistani foreign minister is in New York where he, along with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Palestine and Tunisia, attended an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Palestinian crisis.

Meanwhile, the European Union welcomed the ceasefire bringing, saying in a statement ‘We commend Egypt, Qatar, United Nations, United States and others who have played a facilitating role in this.”

“We are appalled and regret the loss of life over these past 11 days. As the EU has consistently reiterated, the situation in the Gaza Strip has long been unsustainable. Only a political solution will bring sustainable peace and end once for all the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Restoring a political horizon towards a two-state solution now remains of utmost importance. The EU is ready to fully support Israeli and Palestinian authorities in these efforts,” the statement read.

“The EU is renewing its engagement with key international partners, including the United States, and other partners in the region, as well as with the revitalised Middle East Quartet, to this end,” the statement added.

Japan also welcomed the agreement, expressing its respect for the mediation efforts by the countries concerned including the United States and Egypt.

“The Government of Japan strongly hopes that this agreement will lead to a lasting ceasefire in Gaza strip and long-term stability of the region including Gaza strip. Japan has been making diplomatic efforts for calming down the situation in cooperation with the international community and will continue to work toward building confidence between the parties concerned. Japan is also determined to play an active role, including in providing emergency humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Government of Japan once again stresses the need for all the parties concerned to continue their efforts for achieving peace based on a two-state solution and to enhance the momentum toward confidence-building between Israel and Palestine,” the statement added.

Additional reporting by MENA