First statement by the new Egyptian Foreign Minister about the Gaza war

Egypt’s new Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati commented on the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Badr Abdel Aati said that Cairo’s efforts are ongoing to reach a deal that would include a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas. These are the minister’s first comments on the Gaza war after the new government was sworn in on Wednesday.

During a phone call with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, Abdel-Ati warned of the danger of the unilateral Israeli measures it is taking in the occupied West Bank, through continuing settlement expansion operations and increasing arrest campaigns and systematic raids on Palestinian villages and cities.

He called for pressuring Israel to stop the war and commit to implementing the resolutions of the Security Council and the International Court of Justice in this regard. Abdel-Ati explained that “the resumption of the operation of the Rafah crossing depends on the availability of the Israeli will to withdraw from the crossing, and accepting the return of the Palestinian Authority to manage it, as well as establishing rules for disengagement to facilitate the work of international organizations and provide protection for workers in the humanitarian field.”

He stressed the need to “pressure Israel to open more Israeli crossings with the Gaza Strip within the framework of assuming its responsibilities as the occupying power,” stressing the importance of an immediate ceasefire, commitment to international legitimacy resolutions, and respect for international law and international humanitarian law, while continuing international efforts to bring in the largest quantities of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip.