Cairo, January 8 (EFE). – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi today reiterated to his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas that Egypt continues to make “intensive efforts” to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. After the talks there was a new escalation.
At a meeting in Cairo, Al Sisi explained to Abbas “the intensive efforts and current communication that Egypt is making with the various parties to promote a ceasefire,” a statement from the Egyptian presidency said.
The Egyptian made this statement after sources consulted by EFE reported earlier this month that Egypt had frozen its role as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinian factions following the assassination of the number two in Hamas' political office, Saleh al Arouri, last Tuesday Outskirts of Beirut.
That killing, attributed to Israel, clouded the process for a ceasefire and a new hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners, while stoking fears of a possible spread of the war in Gaza to other fronts in the Middle East.
During the meeting, Al Sisi also explained that his country is negotiating with the parties to increase humanitarian aid that will enter the Gaza Strip “in sufficient quantities” to cover the population, almost all of whom have been forced to relocate since the start of the war on October 7th.
For his part, Abbas expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank, which is the scene of an “escalation of tensions and violence on the Israeli side.”
In this sense, both leaders reiterated that the international community must assume “a greater degree of responsibility” to enable the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on its 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, referring to on the settlement of the Palestinian state into two states.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Abbas assured Al Sisi that “the only solution” to stop the escalation in the Middle East is to “end the Israeli occupation” and create a Palestinian state.
Likewise, they “firmly” rejected any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause and the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their territory, after two Israeli ministers recently expressed their desire to reoccupy Gaza and resettle Gaza residents.
In fact, Egypt has on many occasions denounced Israel's “intentions” to forcibly expel Gaza's population into the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Gaza to the south, in what Cairo has called a “red line.”
The Palestinian president arrived in Egypt yesterday after receiving an invitation from Al Sisi, the same day that Jordan announced that it was, in coordination with several Arab capitals, a plan based on the two-state solution to end the war will work out. in the Gaza Strip and to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.