CAIRO – 20 October 2023: The New administrative Capital will host on Saturday Egypt’s Summit for peace with an expected wide international participation to reaching a solution for the ongoing violence in Gaza that started 13 days ago and resulted so far in killing more than 4,137 Palestinian and injuring 13,000 others.
Who will attend?
The call that was made by President Abdel Fattah al Sisi on October 15 during a meeting of Egypt’s National Security Council was praised and welcomes internationally, especially with the continuing escalations in the Gaza strip and the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people.
Up to 31 counties along with three other international organizations have confirmed their participation at the summit including: Qatar, Greece, Palestine, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Italy, Britain, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey, Brazil, China, America, Morocco, South Africa, Norway, Russia, the European Council, in addition to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The beginning
Since the beginning of the crises, October 7, Egypt has been calling for de-escalations and negotiations, however, Israel continued bombing different targets inside Gaza including a hospital and a church where hundreds of civilians Palestinians, women and children took refuge.
Israel also never responded to any attempts or negotiations for entering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and imposed a siege, cutting off water, food, fuel, electricity, and the Internet from the entire stripe.
Israel asked Palestinians to move from the northern part of Gaza, heading south, and threated with starting a ground attack on the Gaza Strip.
Forcible displacement schemes
Egypt described the ‘forcible displacement’ of the Palestinian people as an ‘attempt to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause’ and said this scenario is ‘unthinkable’.
In a press conference with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Cairo, Egyptian Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed Egypt's refusal to ‘liquidate the Palestinian issue’ and stressed the need ‘for an immediate end to violence and escalation’ and allowing the aid to pass for civilians, along with working on a comprehensive political solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinians to establish their state on the 1976 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Regarding the Rafah border crossing, Shoukry said that Egypt has been seeking to have the crossing permanently operational for the entry of aid, normal movement and the passage of foreigners since the beginning of the crisis outbreak; however, the Israeli government has not taken any steps that allows the crossing opening from the other side.
Colonna welcomed Egypt’s call for the peace summit during the conference and said that she thinks the summit is important call and the whole world leaders should come and participate.
The French Foreign Minister also affirmed that “There is no doubt that the siege on Gaza is considered violation of international law, and therefore we demand the opening of the crossings. The Palestinian people must be protected, and their needs must be meet.”
On October 18th, President Sisi stressed that Egypt is a sovereign state and it rejects attempts to push civilians to seek refuge in Egypt., adding that “if necessary, I can ask the Egyptians to come out and express their rejection to the refuge idea, and then you will see millions of Egyptians are ready to demonstrate as an expression of their rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.”
President Sisi added during a joint press conference with the German Chancellor Ulf Schulz at the presidential headquarters that “Egypt rejects the military solution to the Palestinian cause or any attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinians from their land, or for this to come at the expense of the region,” pointing out that Egypt will remain in its position in support of the legitimate Palestinian right to its land.
“We do not justify any violent action against a civilian,” he added.
“Over the past years since the peace agreement with Israel, we were keen to make this path a strategic choice, and we seek for this path to be supported by other countries,” he said.
Extensive communications
Egypt was keen since the beginning of the crises to intensify its calls with the world leaders to search for a negotiating path towards peace in Gaza.
President Sisi made phone calls with leaders of France, Turkey, South Africa, Japan, Spain, Cyprus, Italy, Canada, Russia, Greece, Norway, Brazil and the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
A quadripartite summit between Egypt, Jourdan, Palestine and the US was suppose to take place on October 18th, hut it was canceled following the Israeli aggregation on Gaza’s Baptist Hospital killing nearly 500 civilians.
Egypt strongly condemned the bombing.
On October 19, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden have agreed during a phone call on sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.
Biden voiced appreciation for the Egyptian leadership’s efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.
Mass protests
On Friday, cores of Egyptians in all governorates took to the streets to voice rejection of the Israeli aggression and schemes to relocate Gazans to Sinai.
Protesters voiced support to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in taking measures to protect national security amid the Israeli schemes to displace Palestinians to Sinai.
The protests conceded with the UN secretary-general arrival at Al-Arish Airport, to inspect the humanitarian aid that should be delivered to the civilians of besieged Gaza.
And with hundreds of tons of aid awaiting by the Rafah border crossing, waiting to move to the people in Gaza on the other side, fingers are crossed for Egypt’s peace summit in reaching solution that will end violence in Gaza.
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