Egypt's FM discusses Palestinian cause with Norwegian counterpart

CAIRO - 18 May 2020: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made a phone call with his Norwegian counterpart Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, discussing the Palestinian-Israel cause, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Hafez in a statement on Monday.

“The two ministers also discussed the ongoing arrangements for convening the upcoming teleconference meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) concerned with coordinating international aid provided to the Palestinian People, scheduled on June 2nd, in the context of ensuring the preservation of the Palestinian Authority’s stability and supporting its financial situation,” the statement read.

They tackled ways of “achieving a comprehensive and just solution via supporting all endeavors aimed at restoring the momentum of the political process, and confronting any unilateral measures that would hinder the chances of reaching the desired peaceful settlement within the framework of the two-state solution,” Hafez said.

The two ministers also discussed the bilateral relations and the international efforts of containing the outbreak of the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Egypt affirmed its steady and unchangeable stance towards the Palestinian cause, rejecting the Israeli unilateral move of the annexation of the occupied lands in the West Bank and Jordanian Valley.

In the Arab League Council online extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level on April 30, Shoukry called upon the Arab world and the international community to unite for bringing the peace and stability for the Palestinian people and the establishment of the Palestinian statehood on the border of 1967 and Eastern Jerusalem is its capital.

Unilateral action would undermine the opportunities to revive the negotiations that depend on a two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative, and international legitimacy and its decisions, Shoukry said in his speech at the meeting.

“Any unilateral action to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley is a flagrant violation of all principles of international law, and the principles and norms that govern international relations,” he said.

Israel has exploited the crisis of coronavirus to impose its fait accompli policy which would push the region towards violence and incite terrorism and extremist ideas, he added.