Cairo: Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) Chairman Ambassador Mohamed El Orabi said hopes are pinned on the extraordinary Arab summit convening Tuesday in Cairo to formulate a comprehensive framework for a lasting Gaza ceasefire, ensure humanitarian aid delivery, establish the minimum conditions for the survival of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and end ongoing Israeli assault and violations in the West Bank.
According to Qatar News Agency, El Orabi underscored the importance of unifying the Arab ranks at this critical juncture facing the Palestinian cause in countering the Israeli schemes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He stressed the consequentiality of finding a unified Arab posture during this summit to stand up to the attempts of liquidating the Palestinian cause and adopt effective steps to ensure the rights of the Palestinian people are not compromised.
El Orabi underlined that any attempt to undermine either of the two notions of the Palestinian cause - people and land - would be deemed a liquidation of this cause, something that is utterly rejected both on an Arab and global level. He emphasized that the two-state solution is the only radical solution to this crisis, thereby bestowing the legitimate rights upon the Palestinian people, primarily their right to establish their independent statehood for peace and stability to prevail in the region.
He reiterated the need for a unified Arab position that addresses all projects coming from outside the region or even from Israel. In addition, El Orabi warned of the violations and attacks unfolding in the West Bank, stressing that these practices are no less dangerous than the incidents transpiring in the Gaza Strip. He highlighted that there are existential schemes intended to foment instability, particularly those targeting sustainable development and welfare, which are the holy grail of the nations in the region, thereby evoking a decisive Arab and international stance to address this issue.
It is essential to have constant coordination with the US side in the coming periods given the current state of play in the Palestinian territories, in addition to reaching a political solution that ensures the rights of the Palestinian people to their land, he underlined. Highlighting the Qatari-Egyptian role in achieving the Gaza ceasefire deal as a quintessential for the coming period, El Orabi stressed that the travails in Gaza have positioned the State of Qatar and Egypt within a significant framework, to diligently strive to protect the Palestinian lives and uphold the Palestinian cause.
Throughout the past periods, the Qatar-Egypt cooperation has been a role model for serving the Palestinian cause which culminated in reaching the Gaza ceasefire deal to stop the bloodshed, El Orabi noted. He affirmed that the two nations could have a more significant role in the future, in terms of their constant efforts to espouse the Palestinian cause and enhance the joint coordination at multiple levels.
Regarding the coordination between Qatar and Egypt in the coming period, El Orabi stressed that the two countries' positions unequivocally push back against any attempt to compromise the rights of the Palestinian people. He highlighted that the two nations share a common conviction that attempts to dismantle the Palestinian cause and reframe it based on the US-Israeli vision express neither the international law and international legitimacy nor the aspirations of the Palestinian people and Arab nations.
El Orabi highlighted that the success of economic recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip is contingent upon certain determinants, stressing that it is dangerous to accept a power vacuum in the initial stages of reconstruction. He noted that the State of Qatar and Egypt are working together to rally international efforts to provide technical and material support to initiate the delivery of essential equipment to the Strip for the first phase.