Egyptian efforts to achieve Gaza ceasefire continue, but Israel sets 'unreasonable conditions': Foreign Ministry

CAIRO - January 25, 2024: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Egypt is persistently working towards reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the ministry has highlighted that Israel's imposition of "unreasonable conditions" has made it currently unattainable.

“There are prohibitive conditions for ceasing fire and a lack of political will from the Israeli government and decision-makers,” Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed in a telephone interview with Al-Arabiya on Wednesday.

Abu Zeid also noted that the ceasefire remains out of reach due to the UN Security Council's inability to explicitly call for a ceasefire and the absence of a clear and unified international stance.

“The positions of the United States and some European countries are still ambiguous regarding the ceasefire, and as long as such situation persists, we are still far from achieving this goal,” added Abu Zeid.

‘Israeli obstacles’ impeding aid

The spokesman affirmed that the Rafah border crossing remains open throughout the day and emphasized that any delays in humanitarian aid are the responsibility of the Israeli side. He strongly denied any attempts by Israel to accuse Egypt in this regard.

Abu Zeid described the Israeli accusations as “efforts to create confusion and distort the truth,” stressing that Egypt has no interest in obstructing the entry of aid.

“Obstructing aid would lead to further exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, something that Egypt absolutely does not want,” stated Abu Zeid.

‘Achieving political gain’

The spokesman emphasized that the Israeli side is attempting to exploit the daily suffering of the Palestinian people for political gain, aiming to achieve its objectives in Gaza.

Abu Zeid reiterated Egypt's stance on the necessity of achieving a ceasefire, expediting the delivery of humanitarian aid, and firmly rejecting the displacement of Palestinians from their lands.

He also affirmed the need to resolve the Palestinian cause in a manner that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and conducts the peace process within a specified and limited timeframe.