Egypt: The region is at a critical stage that requires a political vision to resolve the Palestinian issue

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the only way to confront the risks and threats to regional and international peace and security resulting from the Israeli occupation, the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip and its repercussions, is for the international community to adopt an approach that takes into account the rights of all peoples of the region without discrimination, "including the Palestinian people who suffer from unprecedented injustice against their basic rights, the most important of which is their right to live in peace on their land and within their homeland."

The ministry added, in a statement, that the critical and pivotal stage that the region is going through "requires calling on the international community, with its various international and regional components, to unite behind a political vision to resolve the Palestinian issue, provided that this vision is based on the necessity of ending the historical injustice that the honorable Palestinian people have been subjected to, and are still being subjected to, and restoring their legitimate, inalienable rights."

She pointed out that "Egypt adheres to its position rejecting any infringement of these rights, including the right to self-determination, remaining on the land and independence, as well as its adherence to the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their homeland, in a manner consistent with human values, the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, United Nations resolutions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Egypt warned of "the repercussions of ignoring international legitimacy in dealing with the region's crises, considering that this threatens to undermine the foundations of peace that efforts and sacrifices have been made to preserve and establish over decades," stressing its intention to "continue cooperation with all regional and international partners to achieve comprehensive and just peace in the region, and to establish an independent Palestinian state on its land in accordance with international law, on the lines of June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital."

Abdel Aati meets Rubio in Washington

In addition, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Minister Badr Abdel Aati met with his American counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington, where they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries in addition to a number of current regional and international issues, most notably the situation in the Palestinian territories.

Abdel-Ati arrived in Washington on Sunday at a time when popular anger towards the United States is growing due to US President Donald Trump's plan to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip and settle them in other countries, most notably Egypt and Jordan.

According to Reuters, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim Salam said that the meeting between the two sides addressed the overall bilateral relations between the two countries, and that there was an extensive discussion between them regarding “the successive developments in Gaza, Syria, Libya, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and the Red Sea.”

He added that Abdel-Ati stressed during the meeting the "constants of the Egyptian, Arab and Islamic position on the Palestinian issue," expressing Egypt's aspiration to coordinate with the US administration "in order to work to achieve the desired just peace in the Middle East."

New Arab