CAIRO, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has called the world’s major countries, particularly the UN Security Council permanent member states, to press Israel to stop the collective punishment policy in the Gaza Strip.
Shoukry made his remarks during a meeting between the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also the current president of the UN Security Council, in New York on Wednesday.
The Egyptian top diplomat warned that this Israeli policy aims to expel Gazans from their land, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. Shoukry also stressed the need to take effective measures to stand up against any attempt to evict Palestinians from their land.
The world should not be content with statements of condemnation and rejection while Israel expands its illegal settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian land in defiance of the international community, he said. He expressed gratitude for the Chinese stance in support of Arab and Muslim rights and in defense of international legitimacy and principles. Shoukry told the Chinese counterpart that Arab and Muslim countries are pinning high hopes on China’s presidency of the UN Security Council to push for an unconditional permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He briefed that the Chinese minister about the Egyptian-Qatari efforts to extend the current humanitarian pause. The Egyptian minister urged China to help implement the UNSCR 2712 which called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors in the Gaza Strip. For his part, Wang Yi expressed his appreciation for the Egyptian-Qatari mediation, which contributed to the current temporary ceasefire and allowed the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
He expressed his country’s readiness to exert utmost efforts to achieve a permanent and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in line with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. Wang Yi reiterated support for the two-state solution as the only viable option for the Palestinian issue.
The meeting — which took prior to a UNSC ministerial session on the Gaza crisis — marked the second phase of the Arab-Islamic committee’s tour to mobilize international support for the war-ravaged Strip.
The committee, which includes foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye and Indonesia as well as secretary generals of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, was formed under a resolution of the Arab-Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on 11 November.
During the meeting, the committee members expressed their hope for a unified voice during the UNSC session in support of the ceasefire in Gaza and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on a two-state solution.
They demanded the UNSCE’s intervention to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire and prevent further casualties, while reiterating their rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Source: Kuwait News Agency