Egyptian president pushes for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has emphasised the pressing need to reconstruct the Gaza Strip as soon as a ceasefire is reached, according to Middle East Monitor on July 24th.
The statement was made on July 23rd during a phone call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
El-Sisi reasserted Egypt’s vehement opposition to Donald Trump’s proposal to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into the Sinai Peninsula, which is Egyptian territory. He also voiced his support for the formation of an independent Palestinian state, which would have East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with global resolutions. He reiterated that this would be the only way through which a durable peace in the Middle East could be achieved. Such sentiment echoes that of Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, who previously declared that no military solution exists for the crisis in the Middle East.
Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy revealed that El-Sisi’s conversation with Mitsotakis also addressed ongoing regional developments. This included strategies to address tensions and resolve ongoing conflicts.
El-Sisi informed the Greek Prime Minister on the measures Egypt is taking to implement a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Other objectives included securing the liberation of Israeli hostages, and flooding in desperately needed humanitarian aid into the starving population of the Gaza Strip.
El-Sisi and Mitsotakis both declared their commitment to bolstering bilateral relations in a number of areas, including trade, economy, investment, energy, electrical interconnection, and battling illegal immigration.
Ambassador El-Shenawy also said that the leaders both emphasised the importance of stabilising war-torn Libya by nurturing the advancement of a political process to form a united government with enough power to organise simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
In early July and as part of an effort to stabilise rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt asked the United States to work to prevent Libya’s eastern parliament from ratifying a maritime deal with Turkey, according to Middle East Eye on July 2nd. This came after Greece asked Egypt to avert the deal’s implementation as it would infringe upon Greek claims to exclusive economic zones. The tensions that arose between Greece and Turkey after the initial demarcation agreement in 2019 almost escalated into open conflict in 2020.
This cooperation between Egypt and Greece likely laid the groundwork for enhanced cooperation between the two countries.
Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi.org, The Independent, Middle East Eye
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