Parl’t voices rejection of attempts to alter Palestinian cause’s realities
Speaker Gebali: Egypt sustaining efforts to stabilise Gaza ceasefire, deliver aid
Parliament Speaker Hanafi Gebali has affirmed that the sole path for realising lasting peace in the region is the implementation of the two-state solution which allows the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and ensures regional security and stability.
In a statement to Monday’s plenary session of House of Representatives (HoR), the country’s parliament, Speaker Gebali said that this goal is attainable only through launching a serious and comprehensive political process that enables the Palestinian National Authority to carry out its duties in Gaza and the West Bank, while supporting reconstruction projects and sustaining the flow of humanitarian aid.
Justice Gebali also reaffirmed on Monday the parliament’s unequivocal rejection of any arrangements or attempts to alter the geographic or political realities of the Palestinian cause.
He emphasised that proposals involving the displacement of Palestinians not only threaten the Palestinian people but also pose a grave danger to regional security and stability.
”The parliament stands firmly to reassert its unwavering support for the cause of the Palestinian people,” Speaker Gebali said, emphasising that this is not merely the struggle of a people seeking its legitimate rights, but also a test of the values of justice, peace, and stability that we uphold.”
He said that our solidarity with the Palestinian people is not just a political obligation but rather a principled stance in support of justice and right.
”This is particularly significant in light of the grave violations endured by this resilient people, including the shedding of the blood of children, women, and the elderly, under the eyes of an indifferent world”, Gebali said.
The recent agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of hostages and captives represents only the first step on a long path towards achieving peace, he said. This agreement, he added, comes at a pivotal juncture, following over fifteen months of bitter siege, starvation, and oppression faced by the Palestinian people amid a perplexing international inability to address this grave threat to international peace and security.
The parliament speaker stressed that Egypt’s efforts, in co-operation with sincere efforts by the United States and Qatar, once again demonstrate that Egypt remains the beating heart of Arab causes.
“From the outset,” he said, “Egypt has worked with dedication and sincerity to realise this agreement,” adding that Egypt is today continuing to focus efforts on consolidating the agreement by ensuring the implementation of its three-phase timeline, preventing further escalation, and continuing to provide humanitarian aid and essential assistance to the people of Gaza.
”We cannot overlook the immense threat represented by circulating ideas about the displacement of Palestinians from their land,” Justice Gebali said. Such ideas, he added, completely disregard the firm reality that the Palestinian cause is not merely a demographic issue or geographic dispute but the cause of a people struggling for their historical and legitimate rights.
”How can anyone imagine that the Palestinian people, who have sacrificed thousands of martyrs and everything they hold dear, would ever agree to relinquish their land and sanctities in exchange for any alternative,” Gebali said.
He called on the international community to shoulder its historical responsibilities towards the Palestinian people. This is not merely an Arab responsibility but a moral and humanitarian duty for the entire world.
The parliament speaker stressed that Egypt, which has sown the seeds of peace in the region for many years, will continue to defend the rights of the Palestinian people, rejecting all attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause or infringe upon the rights of this great people.
Concluding his statement, Justice Gebali said that the Palestinian cause is not only an Arab issue but also a cause for all of humanity.
