Egyptian diplomacy has shown that it can allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli intransigence.
This coincided with the Cairo Peace Summit last Saturday during which Egypt enumerated war crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians and showed those Western countries that support Israel — the same countries which continually call for respect for human rights — how Israel is violating international law.
Egypt has garnered world attention with ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, which have roused the interest of Arab and Western leaders to partner with Egypt to fulfill mutual interests and to contain the current crisis.
Aid diplomacy is one of the most important tools that Egypt has been using in recent years to help neighbouring countries in times of disaster. It should be remembered that Egypt offered help to victims of the earthquakes in Syria, Turkey and Morocco.
Indeed, Egyptian diplomacy has played a significant part in containing the situation in Gaza and bringing world leaders together in Cairo to exchange views on how to prevent further escalation of violence in the enclave and protect the Palestinians.
During the summit, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi asserted his firm opposition to the displacement
of Palestinians, a plan tailored by the Israeli occupation forces to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Avoiding further escalation of violence, safeguarding the Palestinians’ right to statehood, and achieving a Palestinian-Israeli peace were the messages conveyed by the summit.
Now that the summit has exposed realities, the international community needs to take action to revive the peace process and force Israel to apply the international resolutions to establish a Palestinian state, which is the only way out of the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
It is now clear that Tel Aviv is collectively punishing the people in Gaza — not just Hamas. That the international community steps back from decisive action to halt Israeli aggression against Palestinians means that it is involved with Israel.
The events in Gaza are considered a test of humanity for the world in which they would fail if residents of Gaza were left to face their density alone.
The international community should hold Israel accountable for its ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, starving its inhabitants, practicing collective punishment and damaging infrastructure there.
Mohamed Fahmy is the editor-in-chief of The Egyptian Gazette and Egyptian Mail newspapers
