عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Egypt, US Reject Attempts to 'Displace Palestinians'

Sisi, the king of Jordan, and Abbas during a tripartite summit in Aqaba (Egyptian presidency)
Sisi, the king of Jordan, and Abbas during a tripartite summit in Aqaba (Egyptian presidency)
TT
TT

Egypt, US Reject Attempts to 'Displace Palestinians'

Sisi, the king of Jordan, and Abbas during a tripartite summit in Aqaba (Egyptian presidency)
Sisi, the king of Jordan, and Abbas during a tripartite summit in Aqaba (Egyptian presidency)

Egypt and the United States agreed to “reject the principle or attempts to displace Palestinians from their lands” and affirmed “maintaining intensive consultation” to advance efforts to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and prevent the expansion of the conflict.

Discussions that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Cairo on Thursday, confirmed “adherence to the path of the two-state solution as a basis for achieving stability in the region.”

Egypt’s presidential spokesman, Ahmad Fahmy, said that the US Secretary of State valued Cairo’s efforts to “calm down the situation in the region and consolidate peace and stability,” while Sisi underlined “his country’s keenness to maintain coordination with Washington in a way that serves regional security and stability.”

Blinken’s visit to Cairo came as the last stop of his Middle Eastern tour, a day after a tripartite summit that brought together Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which agreed to “reject any efforts, attempts, or proposals aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause” or displacing the Palestinians outside their lands.”

In this context, Sisi stressed the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities towards implementing the relevant UN resolutions to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Meanwhile, 169 trucks crossed the Rafah border crossing in North Sinai on Thursday to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.

An official Egyptian source was quoted by the Middle East News Agency as saying that the trucks were loaded with large quantities of humanitarian and relief aid, medicines and medical supplies, noting that the Rafah crossing also received 25 injured Palestinians, who were transferred from hospitals in the Gaza Strip for treatment in Egypt.

In remarks before leaving Cairo, Blinken said that rapprochement between Arab countries and Israel was “the best way to isolate Iran.”

The US top diplomat said that Israel’s integration, “with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States,” was linked to a pathway to establish a Palestinian state.

“That’s the single best way to isolate, to marginalize Iran and the proxies that are making so much trouble – for us and for pretty much everyone else in the region,” he stated.

In another Egyptian move to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and ensure the flow of aid to the Palestinians, Sisi told British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in a telephone call on Thursday, that the international community must ensure the access of relief aid to the people of the Strip to end their humanitarian suffering.

The discussion also touched on the situation in the Red Sea region and navigation security, where the two sides underlined the importance of intensified work to avoid the expansion of the conflict in the region, and to enhance security and stability factors at the regional level.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Warns of Profound Liquidity Crisis in Yemen’s Houthi-Controlled Areas

For the first time, the Houthis will face difficulties in financial transfers and foreign currency supply (local media)
For the first time, the Houthis will face difficulties in financial transfers and foreign currency supply (local media)
TT
TT

UN Warns of Profound Liquidity Crisis in Yemen’s Houthi-Controlled Areas

For the first time, the Houthis will face difficulties in financial transfers and foreign currency supply (local media)
For the first time, the Houthis will face difficulties in financial transfers and foreign currency supply (local media)

A UN program recently warned of low foreign currency reserves and a liquidity crisis in Houthi-controlled areas if the economic conflict with the internationally recognized government continues in Yemen.

It also noted that the poor food consumption significantly worsened in the north, increasing by 78% year-on-year, compared to a 52% increase in the south.

In its Food Security Update, the World Food Program (WFP) warned that a banking crisis is looming in Yemen, as a transaction ban has been announced between the intentionally recognized government and the Houthis-controlled areas.

“These developments, coupled with diminished foreign currency reserves in the north, could result in liquidity crisis with profound implications on markets, livelihoods, and food security situation,” it said.

The Program also noted that the current escalation in the “economic conflict” is likely to disrupt the flow of remittances and the overall financial and banking sectors, posing significant challenges for importers to procure essential food and non-food items, and ultimately impacting food supply and food price.

According to the WFP Update, this conflict comes while limited income opportunities are a key challenge to accessing food, reported by 71% in the north and 60% in the south.

It added that the depth and severity of food deprivation (poor food consumption) also peaked in May, at 32% in the north and 31% in the south.

This trend significantly worsened in the north, increasing by 78% year-on-year, compared to a 52% increase in the south.

Severe food deprivation reached an all-time high in Al Jawf, Al Bayda, Hajjah, Amran, and Al Hodeidah, WFP said.

Around 8% of households in the north reported relying on begging to meet their essential needs, compared to three percent in the south, it showed, adding that this practice was particularly pronounced in Sadah, Hajjah, Amran, and Al Bayda.

WFP also said the total volume of fuel imported via the Red Sea ports increased by 32% during Jan-May 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Fuel imports via the southern ports of Aden and Mukalla decreased by 41% year-on-year, as local crude oil production from Marib largely contributes to covering domestic fuel needs in government controlled areas.

However, the WFP update said it is crucial to closely monitor import flows over the coming months, especially given the increased insurance costs for Yemeni ports, the diminished foreign currency reserves, and the banking crisis.

Also, by the end of May 2024, WFP said that the Yemeni riyal (YER) depreciated to an all-time low of YER 1,749 per dollar in government-controlled areas, losing around 25% of its value against the US dollar year-on-year.

“This decline is primarily attributed to low foreign currency reserves and revenue shortages due to reduced crude oil exports,” it said.

The UN program also noted that the overall volume of food imports via all Yemeni seaports increased by 22% during the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

However, it showed that the Red Sea ports saw a 35% annual rise in food imports during Jan-May 2024, while the southern ports of Aden and Mukalla exhibited a 16% annual decline.