Egypt Committed to ‘Peace Treaty’ with Israel, Says Smotrich’s Comments ‘Provocative’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (dpa)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (dpa)
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Egypt Committed to ‘Peace Treaty’ with Israel, Says Smotrich’s Comments ‘Provocative’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (dpa)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (dpa)

In a first comment on reports that Egypt may suspend the peace treaty with Israel, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday his country has upheld its peace treaty with Israel for the past 40 years, serving as the foundation for diplomatic relations between the two nations.
“There is a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which has been in effect for the past 40 years and will continue to be. We are actively dealing with this matter at this stage,” Shoukry said during a press conference with his Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon in the capital Ljubljana.
Shoukry added that Egypt would adhere to the 1979 peace treaty as long as it remains reciprocal. “Therefore, I will rule out any comments that have been made on this matter,” he said.
The FM also affirmed that Cairo will continue its efforts with both parties to reach an agreement that leads to the release of hostages and prisoners and ensuring the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.
He reiterated Egypt’s rejection of forced displacement of Palestinians from their lands, warning against the Israel planned assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Smotrich’s Comments
In a related development, Egypt's foreign ministry on Monday condemned as “unacceptable” and “provocative” comments by Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who claimed Cairo has “considerable responsibility” for Hamas's October 7 attack.
Smotrich said during a Monday meeting of his Religious Zionist Party that “the Egyptians bear considerable responsibility for October 7,” also claiming that “much of Hamas's armaments pass through Egypt,” which shares a border with Gaza and has been a key mediator in efforts to end the fighting.
In a statement, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said it was “unfortunate and disgraceful” for the Israeli minister to “continue releasing irresponsible and inflammatory statements.”
“Egypt fully controls its territory, and does not allow any party to involve Egypt's name in failed attempts to justify its own shortcomings,” he said.
Tensed Relations
Moreover, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman told MBC Masr on Monday there is “tension” in relations between Egypt and Israel after Cairo confirmed its categorical rejection of a possible Israeli ground military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Cairo is "ready for any scenario and has many cards to use when the time comes,” Abu Zeid said.
On Sunday, two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat told The Associated Press that Egypt may suspend the peace treaty if Israeli troops invade Rafah. Netanyahu says Rafah is Hamas' last remaining stronghold after more than four months of war and that sending in ground troops is essential to defeat the group.
Also, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal had reported on Saturday that Egyptian officials warned the decades-long peace treaty between Egypt and Israel could be suspended if Israeli troops enter Rafah, or if any of Rafah’s refugees are forced southward into the Sinai Peninsula.

 

 



With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
TT

With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)

After weeks of Israeli bombardment left them with nowhere else to go, hundreds of Palestinians have ended up in a former Gaza prison built to hold murderers and thieves.

Yasmeen al-Dardasi said she and her family passed wounded people they were unable to help as they evacuated from a district in the southern city of Khan Younis towards its Central Correction and Rehabilitation Facility.

They spent a day under a tree before moving on to the former prison, where they now live in a prayer room. It offers protection from the blistering sun, but not much else.

Dardasi's husband has a damaged kidney and just one lung, but no mattress or blanket.

"We are not settled here either," said Dardasi, who like many Palestinians fears she will be uprooted once again.

Israel has said it goes out of its way to protect civilians in its war with the Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza and led the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the latest conflict.

Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced several times, say nowhere is free of Israeli bombardment, which has reduced much of Gaza to rubble.

An Israeli air strike killed at least 90 Palestinians in a designated humanitarian zone in the Al-Mawasi area on July 13, the territory's health ministry said, in an attack that Israel said targeted Hamas' elusive military chief Mohammed Deif.

On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said Israeli military strikes on areas in eastern Khan Younis had killed 14 people.

Entire neighborhoods have been flattened in one of the most densely populated places in the world, where poverty and unemployment have long been widespread.

According to the United Nations, nine in ten people across Gaza are now internally displaced.

Israeli soldiers told Saria Abu Mustafa and her family that they should flee for safety as tanks were on their way, she said. The family had no time to change so they left in their prayer clothes.

After sleeping outside on sandy ground, they too found refuge in the prison, among piles of rubble and gaping holes in buildings from the battles which were fought there. Inmates had been released long before Israel attacked.

"We didn't take anything with us. We came here on foot, with children walking with us," she said, adding that many of the women had five or six children with them and that water was hard to find.

She held her niece, who was born during the conflict, which has killed her father and brothers.

When Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 they killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the air and ground offensive Israel launched in response, Palestinian health officials say.

Hana Al-Sayed Abu Mustafa arrived at the prison after being displaced six times.

If Egyptian, US and Qatari mediators fail to secure a ceasefire they have long said is close, she and other Palestinians may be on the move once again. "Where should we go? All the places that we go to are dangerous," she said.