Egypt’s stand on the Palestinian cause in general and the war in Gaza in particular is firm, as it called repeatedly for an end to the Israeli occupation for the Palestinian territories.
It also called for the adoption of international legitimacy in the right of the Palestinians to establish their independent state on the June 4, 1974 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Dr Ahmed Fouad Anwar, Professor of Hebrew Language at Alexandria University and expert on Israeli affairs.
In remarks to The Egyptian Gazette, Dr Anwar hoped that the Israeli side would heed the Egyptian warnings to avoid the deterioration of conditions and to avoid what he called as ‘Palestinian reaction’ against the Israeli provocative practices, including in the foremost, repeated storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Itamar Ben-Gvir polices and the incursion of camps.
He expected that the Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip will be unprecedented, as Israel is not preparing to launch a military operation, but rather a “comprehensive war” to “restore reputation”.
He added that Egypt’s endeavors in these respects target two main aspects, one through the political leadership, who started the call early with all bodies concerned to curb the Israeli aggression against Palestine, and the other through launching communication channels with the Palestinian factions and opening humanitarian corridors to the Gaza Strip.
“The Egyptian move is intense, especially since the Palestinian resistance has entered military bases adjacent to the Egyptian border and the civilians on the Palestinian side will pay the price if the matter escalates,” he said.
On the possibility of the war penetration to neighboring countries, Dr Anwar sees out that the most likely scenario refers to the opening of Lebanese front and the intervention of Hizbollah’s party and the Palestinian factions there in the war.
On the state response to the Israeli provocative practices such as the bombing of the border crossing between Egypt and Palestine twice, and the calls by some Israeli officials on the Palestinians to flee to Egyptian lands, he said that the Egyptian policy in this regard is wise.
“Egypt’s commitment to silence on the issue of displacement made Israeli officials withdraw their calls,” he said, noting that the bombing of the Rafah border crossing was on the Palestinian side.
