2024-04-15 18:41:22
Gaza War: Egyptian efforts to revive “truce” negotiations and reduce escalation
Amid global anticipation of the repercussions of the Iranian-Israeli escalation, Egypt is making “intensive” efforts in an effort to prevent the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East region, in parallel with ongoing efforts to revive negotiations aimed at agreeing on a “truce” in the western sector after more than 6 months of war.
On Sunday evening, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held contacts with his counterparts in the United States, Iran, and Israel, and on Monday, he held a meeting with the United Nations Chief Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza. The Egyptian discussions focused as a whole on “a call for restraint,” while affirming Cairo’s readiness to cooperate with partners in an effort to defuse the crisis.
Experts spoken to by Asharq Al-Awsat considered Egyptian communications “part of Arab efforts to contain the conflict in the region and restore momentum to the truce efforts in Gaza.”
During two phone calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz on Sunday evening, the Egyptian Foreign Minister affirmed “his country’s readiness to intensify its efforts in cooperation with partners in order to defuse the current crisis, which is taking a dangerous escalatory curve, especially as it coincides with the continuing crisis.” The Gaza Strip and the daily suffering of the Palestinian people, and the escalation of tension in multiple spots in the region,” according to an official statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid.
Shukri expressed his country’s “deep concern as a result of the continued state of unprecedented military escalation between Iran and Israel in a way that threatens the situation to get out of control, threaten the stability of the region, and endanger the interests of its people.” He called on his Iranian and Israeli counterparts to “exercise the utmost levels of self-restraint and avoid brinkmanship policies and mutual provocations that would increase the state of tension and instability in the Middle East.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “During the call with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Shukry was keen to emphasize Cairo’s firm position demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid, and rejecting any measures aimed at displacing Palestinians outside their lands, including carrying out military operations.” Wilderness in the Palestinian city of Rafah.
The phone calls with Abdullahian and Katz were followed by a third call with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman pointed out that the discussions with the foreign ministers of Iran, Israel, and the United States “came in connection with the dangerous military escalation witnessed in the last hours as a result of the launch of offensive Iranian marches against Israeli targets.”
Abu Zeid said, “The two ministers exchanged visions and assessments on paths of action to stop the escalation and spare the region the risks of expanding the conflict,” as they “agreed to continue consultation and coordination between the two countries to contain the ongoing tension, enhance opportunities for calm, and defuse crises in the Middle East.”
Shukri stressed, “Egypt is keen to coordinate closely with the United States in order to contain the current crisis between Iran and Israel, and to continue making every effort to stop the war in the Gaza Strip and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to contain the humanitarian catastrophe to which the Palestinians in the Strip are exposed.”
Egypt, along with the United States and Qatar, is playing the role of mediator in indirect negotiations aimed at agreeing on a “truce” in the Gaza Strip, during which a “prisoner exchange” will take place between Israel and the Hamas movement.
The director of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Thought and Studies, Brigadier General Khaled Okasha, explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the contacts conducted by Egypt and a number of concerned Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are primarily aimed at containing the escalation in the region, in addition to restoring momentum to the Palestinian issue and to the truce negotiations.” in Gaza”.
He said, “There is an Israeli desire to expand the circle of conflict in the region and to maneuver to escape the entitlements related to the truce and the completion of the prisoner exchange deal,” pointing out that “over the past months of the Paris 1 and 2 negotiations and the Cairo and Doha discussions, the mediators were able to come close to completing the truce agreement, but the tensions The recent agreement between Israel and Iran may significantly disrupt the course of negotiations.
He continued: “The Iranian-Israeli escalation detracts from the amount of interest in the Palestinian issue, after the mediators were able to mobilize international alignment to ensure that aid reaches the Gaza Strip and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians.”
The fate of the truce negotiations became “unknown” after the Hamas movement submitted its response on Saturday evening to the mediators. Israel promised to respond in rejection of Washington’s proposal presented by the Director of the CIA, William Burns, in a recent round of talks hosted by Cairo.
Efforts to achieve calm have continued since a meeting held in Paris at the end of last January, in the presence of the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the United States, and Israel, in addition to the Qatari Prime Minister, the results of which were described at the time as “constructive.”
From Paris, the negotiations moved to Cairo, Doha, and Paris again, whether directly or indirectly, but so far they have not resulted in an agreement.
Okasha said: “The volume of communications conducted by the concerned countries, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, during the past 48 hours indicates tireless efforts to contain the conflict and prevent the region from sliding into a state of tension.”
He added: “Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the Arab countries have expressed their fear of the expansion of the conflict in the region, and indicated that this war threatens regional stability, which became clear recently with the escalation of tension between Tehran and Tel Aviv.”
Egypt and several Arab countries have previously warned of the expansion of the conflict in the region, following the repercussions of the war in Gaza.
For his part, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University, Dr. Ahmed Youssef Ahmed, said, “Despite the ongoing tension in the region, no one can be certain about the level of escalation in the future, and the matter depends on the size of the Israeli response to the Iranian operation,” noting that “things are in The hand of the United States, which does not seem to want to spark a regional war.
He pointed out that “the Iranian-Israeli escalation came at the expense of the Palestinian issue and diverted attention towards Tehran and away from Gaza, so that cohesion returned to Tel Aviv’s allies,” noting that “all recent contacts aim, in addition to preventing escalation, to restore interest in the most important issue, which is the ongoing war in Gaza”.
Shukri meets with the United Nations Chief Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, Sigrid Kach, who is visiting Cairo (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
On Monday, Shoukry received in Cairo the United Nations Chief Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, Sigrid Kach. The meeting dealt with following up on developments in the efforts of the UN Coordinator to implement the tasks assigned to her under Security Council Resolution 2720, to facilitate, coordinate and monitor the process of bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman.
Shukri reiterated “the legal and humanitarian responsibility of international parties to ensure the implementation of all Security Council and General Assembly resolutions related to the situation in Gaza,” stressing “the inevitability of dealing seriously and urgently with the crushing humanitarian crisis in the Strip by adopting an immediate and permanent ceasefire, as well as enforcing Aid is fully, safely and intensively in all areas of Gaza, removing the obstacles placed by Israel in this regard, and opening all land crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip to increase the flow of aid.”
On the other hand, the League of Arab States condemned what it described as “the frenzied campaign that armed extremist settlers continue to wage against the cities and towns of the West Bank, under the watchful eye and protection of the Israeli authorities who encourage these shameful operations,” which establishes “a general state of impunity and continued aggression against Palestinian lives and property.
The official spokesman for the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Jamal Rushdi, explained in an official statement on Monday that “the crimes committed by the occupation on a daily basis in Gaza should not cover up what the West Bank is witnessing of a clear rise in the frequency and seriousness of violent crimes, burning of homes and agricultural lands, and destruction of property, which… “It is committed by armed settlers every day.”
Rushdi added that “the imposition of sanctions by some countries on a number of settlers represents a small, late step and is insufficient to deter the escalating phenomenon and provide protection for Palestinian civilians from the West Bank,” stressing “the need for the Security Council to move to end this shameful situation and put an end to the state of impunity in the West Bank.” ».
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