CAIRO – Secretary of the Palestinian Fatah Movement Jibril Rajoub said Egypt under President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s leadership thwarted Israeli plans for forced displacement of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip.
Rajoub also stressed Egypt’s pivotal role in protecting the region and resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly with regard to the Palestinian issue.
In an interview with MENA on the sidelines of the 43rd World Scout Conference in Cairo Rajoub said, Egypt’s national security is part of regional stability in the Middle East.
Since 1948, Egypt has adopted firm stances in support of the Palestinian State, as well as preserving the Palestinian national identity at the regional and international levels, he said.
He said Egypt is making every effort to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and return the situation same as before October 7, 2023.
Egypt believes that the ceasefire in Gaza should be the beginning of a broader international movement to recognize the Palestinian State and implement the two-state solution to restore stability in the region, Rajoub said.
Despite the current complicated situation, Egypt was keen from the first moment of the outbreak of the war on Gaza on keeping the issue of establishing a Palestinian State on the agenda of the international community.
Egypt stressed the pressing necessity of preserving the unity of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and the unity of goals and decisions through a political system that constitutes an umbrella for all Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and Al Quds (East Jerusalem), Rajoub said.
He further underlined that the Palestinians are looking forward to a three-phase Egyptian initiative; the first phase is to stop the Israeli aggression, citing genuine efforts made by Egypt and Qatar, in cooperation with the US administration, to halt this aggression and exchange prisoners.
As for the second phase, it will be related to stepping up an international effort to hold an international conference to establish a Palestinian State and put an end to the occupation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, he added.
The third phase involves Egypt’s key role in ending the inter-Palestinian division, Rajoub said, stressing the importance of creating a positive environment conducive to outline a roadmap to bring closer Fatah and Hamas movements, he said.
There are three main points to reconcile between the two movements; the first is the unity of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, the second is establishing a Palestinian State on the 1967 borders – in accordance – with UN resolutions and the third is closing the Palestinian ranks, through forming a unity government, he elaborated.
So far, Israel’s blatant aggression on Gaza left more than 40,000 Palestinian citizens dead and tens of thousands injured and caused a widespread destruction of infrastructure, hospitals, universities and places of worship, he said.
Rajoub warned against the continuation of this intense aggression, urging the international community to ratchet up pressure on Israel to abide by the resolutions of international legitimacy.
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