Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his British counterpart David Cameron, currently visiting Cairo, underlined the importance of allowing humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip to confront the current humanitarian crisis.
At a joint press conference in Cairo on Thursday, the two ministers stressed the importance of ceasing fire.
Shoukry called for increasing the aid offered to the Gaza Strip, underlining the importance of halting aggression in the Gaza Strip.
He asserted the situation in the Gaza Strip are unacceptable and is not handled in accordance with the international law.
He noted that 20,000 Palestinians, including 8,000 children, were killed in the Gaza Strip in addition to destroying 70 percent of houses.
For his part, Cameron lauded the role played by Egypt with the Red Crescent to ensure access of assistance into the enclave.
Shoukry underlined the importance of securing a safe access to humanitarian assistance in a way that secures the needs of civilians in the Gaza Strip where the World Food Program says half the population is starving amid Israeli military strikes.
He added that talks with his British counterpart tackled bilateral relations and developments in Gaza in light of the continued deterioration of humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave.
Shoukry called for stepping up joint efforts to pass a new UN Security Council resolution that seeks to facilitate scaled up aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
The foreign minister said his talks with his British counterpart tackled ways of boosting economic cooperation with a special focus on the immigration issue in light of efforts exerted by Egypt to sponsor the immigrants it is hosting or steps taken jointly with the organizations operating in this domain.
Shoukry said the British side is interested in this issue, adding that cooperation between the two countries over this issue is important because it serves the two countries’ interests.
Asked about reason behind the repeated delay in passing a UNSC resolution on humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Shoukry said talks with Cameron today tackled the draft resolution on Gaza assistance.
He said the resolution is humanitarian at the first place and seeks to facilitate scaled up aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
The resolution calls for ending all acts of hostilities in the Gaza Strip to allow the unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance, Shoukry said, stressing that continued Israeli strikes against Gaza has left till now 20,000 Palestinians dead, including 8,000 children.
This situation is totally unacceptable and cannot be viewed by the international community away from any humanitarian framework or rules regulating the international humanitarian law.
Shoukry said 70 percent of houses were destroyed as well as health facilities not to mention the forced displacement of Palestinians from the North to the South, the spread of diseases and acute shortage of medicines.
Shoukry talked about the assistance piled up in Arish and Rafah terminal in light of the inability to let them in because of the hurdles created by Israel.
He said the Arab-Islamic group, which is responsible for holding negotiations on the draft at the Security Council, showed flexibility and accepted many amendments submitted by member states, wondering over the repeated delay of such an important resolution.
Till now, the resolution was accepted by 70 countries and this testifies to the importance of the resolution that meets the humanitarian needs of the Gazans.
The draft resolution asks the parties to the conflict “allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip” by the most direct routes. It also “calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities” to allow safe and unhindered aid access and for urgent steps toward a “sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
The text, if adopted, also would authorize a U.N. monitoring mechanism to confirm the humanitarian nature of aid shipments into Gaza through multiple entry points.
Asked about the double-standard policy adopted by western countries when dealing with the Palestinian issue if compared with their approach towards the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the UK foreign minister said the UK is exerting utmost efforts to enact a resolution that would guarantee the entry of the biggest quantities of aid either through Jordan, Rafah crossing or Karam Abu Salem terminal.
Cameron said what happened in Ukraine is completely different from what is happening in the Gaza Strip, he said. Russia has invaded Ukraine and so the entire world condemned Russia and supported Ukraine so that it can come out of the conflict victorious.
What is taking place in Gaza is also a tragedy and Israel should abide by international laws, he added.
He underlined the importance of ending the current conflict and finding a permanent solution that would guarantee peace and stability.
Cameron said all efforts should be exerted now on sending assistance to Gaza and releasing all hostages, especially British ones.
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