Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and Egyptians Abroad, Badr Abdel-Aati, participated on Monday in the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, focusing on Israel’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people.
In an address to the conference, Minister Abdel-Aati underlined Israel’s continued, systematic violations and its perpetration of mass killing crimes against defenseless civilians. Israel, he said, continues its blatant disregard for international laws and norms, its expansion of aggression in Gaza, and its use of starvation, blockades, and obstruction of UN operations to undermine Palestinian resilience and pressure them into displacement – a course Egypt categorically rejects.
The minister outlined Egypt’s humanitarian support for Gaza, noting that Egypt has provided nearly 70% of aid since the crisis began, totaling 550,000 tons, and has treated thousands of injured Palestinians and their companions in Egyptian hospitals. He stressed the necessity of Israel facilitating the immediate entry of aid through all crossings without restrictions. Gaza, he said, requires at least 700 trucks of supplies daily; and there are more than ver 5,000 aid trucks ready on the Egyptian side but that their entry faces several obstacles from the Israeli side.
Dr Abdel-Aati expressed Egypt’s umost condemnation of Israel’s expansion of military operations in Gaza, holding it fully responsible for the continuation of the war and its deliberate disregard for mediation efforts, including a proposal accepted by Hamas that would lead to a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and expedited humanitarian aid. He called on the international community to fulfill its legal and humanitarian responsibilities by exerting diplomatic and political pressure on Israel to accept the proposal put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
The minister also addressed Israel’s ongoing violations in the occupied West Bank, including plans to build 3,400 housing units in the E1 area – a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention aimed at dividing the northern and southern West Bank and aborting the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
Israel’s attempts to alter the legal, demographic, and geographic status of the occupied Palestinian territories represents a new and flagrant violation of UN resolutions and international law, Dr Abdel-Aati said. Egypt, he emphasised, categorically rejects the recent Israeli statements regarding the myth of the so-called “Greater Israel,” calling it an expression of power arrogance that Egypt will neither accept nor allow, warning that such ideas only escalate conflict and undermine peaceful coexistence in the region.
Reaffirming that Egypt continues to prioritise the Palestinian cause in its foreign policy, Minister Abdel-Aati stressed that Egypt will sustain its efforts in support of the Palestinian people’s drive to achieve their legitimate rights and establish an independent state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Egyptian foreign minister welcomed recent announcements by some countries regarding imminent recognition of the State of Palestine, calling it a long-awaited step towards realising Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination. He urged countries that have yet to recognise Palestine to do so, emphasizing that self-determination is an alienable right of the Palestinian people.
Dr Abdel-Aati recalled President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s assertion, in a July 27, 2025 statement, of Egypt’s clear stance against forced displacement of Palestinians and stating that Egypt will not participate in this historical injustice, which threatens the viability of a two-state solution.
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