Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi affirmed Tuesday that the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip is a war of starvation, genocide, and an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian cause.
He highlighted the efforts exerted by the Arab Republic of Egypt with the State of Qatar and the United States of America, to stop the war and deliver aid to the population.
In a joint press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart Luong Cuong, El Sisi stated that the talks addressed the current situation in the Middle East, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, end the war in Gaza, and support the Palestinian people in obtaining their legitimate rights and establishing their independent state based on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He considered that the lives of the Palestinian people in the Strip, and perhaps in the West Bank as well, are now being used as a political bargaining chip, while the human conscience and the international community stand by watching what is happening in Gaza.
During the past few months or weeks, he continued, much has been said about Egypt’s role in delivering aid, affirming that the Gaza Strip has five outlets to the outside world, including the Rafah crossing, while the rest are with Israel, stressing that the Rafah crossing has not been closed during this war nor before.
He explained that for nearly 20 years, Egypt’s role has been to prevent escalation in the Gaza Strip, and its role has always been to calm any potential fighting between the Strip and Israel because it has always assessed that any fighting would have a devastating impact on the Strip in one way or another.
He noted that this is the fifth war in which Egypt plays a positive and active role to stop the fighting, pointing to Egypt’s efforts to halt the war on Gaza since its outbreak and to deliver aid, stressing that this role has not ended, but Cairo has found in recent weeks a form of bankruptcy in this matter.
President El Sisi added during the press conference that it was said that aid is not entering through the crossing because of Egypt and that Egypt is preventing its entry, which is extremely strange.
He reiterated that the crossing has not been closed and has been destroyed four times during the recent war, four times they have repaired and restored it again until Israeli forces reached the other side of the crossing.
He clarified that part of the crossing lies on Egyptian territory, that is, Egyptian land, and the other part lies within Palestinian territory, and that the crossing could have allowed aid to enter as long as there were no Israeli forces stationed on the Palestinian side.
He explained that when they speak and exert efforts with their partners in the State of Qatar and the United States of America, the goal is to stop the war, deliver aid, and release hostages, pointing out that more than 5,000 trucks are currently on Egyptian soil loaded with aid, whether from Egypt or from other countries contributing to this effort.
He emphasized that the human conscience will not remain silent in this manner, and that his country will always remain a gateway for the entry of aid, not a gateway for the displacement of the Palestinian people.
