Egypt demanded on Sunday intensifying efforts to halt Israeli aggression on Gaza. Despite its support for the so-called Deal of the Century, Egypt is well aware of the consequences of the soaring tensions between the occupying state and the Palestinians.
Egypt demanded on Sunday intensifying efforts to halt Israeli aggression on Gaza. Despite its support for the so-called Deal of the Century, Egypt is well aware of the consequences of the soaring tensions between the occupying state and the Palestinians. Add to this, Egypt’s involvement sends a message to Israel that Cairo rejects the Israeli support for the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance project (GERD), which decreases Egypt’s share in the Nile River.
Accordingly, the Egyptian government and Egypt’s Doctors Syndicate cooperated to provide innocent Palestinians with medical assistance. In a Facebook statement, the Syndicate condemns Israeli aggression on Gaza, and called on the international community to act immediately.
Egyptian Ambassador to Ramallah met on Sunday with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ashteya, delivering a solidarity message with innocent Palestinians amid Israeli aggression.
The Egyptian Ambassador asserted that Egypt is working with regional and international actors to halt Israeli provocative actions in Gaza and to inhibit the reoccurrence of these confrontations in Gaza Strip and Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, Egypt’s Foreign Minister said that Egypt is leading regional efforts to secure a ceasefire. “The talks have taken a real and serious path on Friday,” a Palestinian official said. “The mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations are stepping up their contacts with all sides in a bid to restore calm, but a deal hasn’t yet been reached.”
These developments came amid soaring tensions between the Palestinians and the occupying power, which doubled the number of Palestinian death tolls in less than one week.
Dr. Taqdum Al- Khatib, a Political Researcher specializing in MENA politics says: “The U-turn of the Egyptian position on what’s happening in Palestine sends a clear message to Israel and United Arab Emirates that Egypt rejects their support for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (#GERD) and highlights that Egypt is a major regional player in the Arab-Israeli conflict, not the UAE.”
Yet despite Egypt’s mediating efforts, the U.S. should act immediately. Earlier this week, the United States has stonewalled the UN’s efforts that aimed to halt Israeli provocative actions in Gaza.
President Joe Biden vowed a bold agenda to promote human rights around the world, yet he is not willing to condemn Israeli actions in the occupied territories.
This approach is manifested in his latest speech: “There has not been a significant overreaction” in Israel’s response to Hamas rockets. He said the aim is to get a “significant reduction in attacks, particularly rocket attacks.”
Barbara Blett Usher, a BBC state department correspondent, stated that the Arab-Israeli conflict gives the new American administration foreign policy headache, adding that Biden’s priorities lie elsewhere, namely, the Chinese and Iranian files.
Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the American progress says: “A common mistake many U.S. presidents make is not attending to the challenges in the Middle East. Biden correctly set his priorities in the first 100 days on the home front with a sharp focus on the pandemic and the economy.”
“In the world, Biden has mostly focused on China and climate change in his first few months. But, events like we’ve seen over the past few days, can make a mess of the best-laid plans,” Katulis added.
Theoretically, Biden supports the two-state solution; practically he has not expressed enough interest to reach this end goal.
Add to this, the ongoing crisis and chaos in Israel and occupied territories stand to benefit the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ever since he held before, Netanyahu cultivated an image of himself as the protector of the Zionist state. Playing the caretaking role during times of crisis, Netanyahu is expected to stay in power longer.
All in All, without enough international pressure, the Israeli aggression is expected to continue.