Egypt’s Foreign Minister also welcomed what he saw as positive responses from Hamas. Now expect a firm response from Israel.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister said Monday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza must include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Rafah, the only border crossing between the Palestinian and Egyptian territories.
“It has to be one of the points of any agreement that is signed,” said Minister Sameh Shoukry, quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE, in reference to Israel’s withdrawal from the Rafah border crossing, in the south of the Strip. from Gaza.
The Egyptian minister spoke in Madrid, at a press conference with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares.
Sameh Shoukry also welcomed the responses he considered positive from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, to the peace proposal for this territory presented by the United States, Egypt and Qatar and reiterated that a response is now expected. firm of Israel.
“There is a lot of communication,” said the Egyptian minister.
Sameh Shoukry was in Madrid this Monday to meet with the Spanish Government, which formally recognized Palestine as a State on May 28.
Last week, Foreign Ministers from several Arab countries were in Madrid to thank and praise the Spanish decision.
Egypt, with the United States and Qatar, moved forward late last week with a peace proposal for Gaza that includes a ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas and a reconstruction plan for the Palestinian territory.
Israel maintains offensive in Rafah despite calls for a truce
In addition, Egypt is part of the Arab Contact Group for Gaza, whose foreign ministers visited Madrid last week.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, received Sameh Shoukry this Monday and, at the end of the meeting, in a publication on the social network release”. of the hostages.”
He held a very positive meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, where he addressed Spain’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine.
I expressed my appreciation for all the efforts that Egypt is making to… pic.twitter.com/PZlc56jeXr
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) June 3, 2024
“We continue to work together to achieve peace and security in the Middle East,” Sánchez added.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his part, at the press conference with Sameh Shoukry, highlighted that “Spain and Egypt have a common vision” on peace in the Middle East.
Highlighting Egypt’s “capacity for dialogue” “with all actors in the region,” Albares added that it has also demonstrated “support and commitment to the implementation of the two-state solution” (Israel and Palestine) and was the first country Arab to sign a peace agreement with Israel.
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which caused around 1,200 deaths and left two hundred hostages held by the Palestinian group, according to Tel Aviv.
The Israeli offensive that followed in the Gaza Strip caused more than 36,000 deaths and a serious humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to health authorities supervised by Hamas.
Source: Observadora
