Egypt, Norway call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

^{Cairo, Oslo keen on boosting bilateral ties at all levels}

Spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency posted a joint Egyptian-Norwegian statement about President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s official visit to Oslo on December 8-10.

The president’s visit to Norway was part of his European tour. President El Sisi met with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo.

“Egypt and Norway have enjoyed close bilateral co-operation relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1936, and today we reaffirmed our commitment to further developing friendly,” read the statement, a copy of which was made available to The Egyptian Gazette.

According to the statement, the two countries agreed to hold regular political consultations on issues of common concern to strengthen the partnership and integrate efforts to achieve common interests of stability, peace, and prosperity.

“We stressed our deep concern about the situation in the Middle East, including the enormous suffering of civilians and dire humanitarian needs, and agreed that all parties must put an end to violence and take immediate and substantive measures to address this situation,” it said.

Immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza

Cairo and Oslo condemned all violations of international law and agreed on the urgent need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2735.

Norway, for its part, also condemned the terrorist attack launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and called for immediate release of the hostages.

“We stressed that all parties are obligated to protect civilians, asserting Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law to allow and facilitate safe access for humanitarian aid through all roads in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” it said.

Egypt and Norway also rejected all forms of forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, voicing concern about the current escalation, the increase in settler violence and military incursions into the West Bank.

“We also raised our deep concern about Israel’s systematic obstruction of UNRWA and other organizations providing aid, including recent legislation adopted by the Knesset. If implemented, this legislation would prevent UNRWA from continuing its operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” read the statement, noting that this would lead to serious consequences for hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Egypt and Norway also underscored joint efforts to support UNRWA’s role, backing the submission of a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly to request that the International Court of Justice provide an advisory opinion on this issue.