In the middle of worst crisis in recent decades in the Middle East, and there are already many, the Cairo summit for peace in Gaza yesterday reactivated the so-called two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. This was the main agreement of the meeting, along with the call for a ceasefire, the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas and the sending of humanitarian aid from Egypt through the Rafah border post, briefly open in the morning for entry into the country. first twenty trucks with food, water, medicine and, of course, coffins.
The twenty Arab, European, American and African countries participating in this summit, alongside the UN and the Arab League, agreed on all these points. But their differences over responsibility for the Palestinian conflictMuslim nations blaming Israeli occupation and Western nations blaming Hamas terrorism prevented the meeting from concluding with a final joint statement.
Instead, the Egyptian presidency issued a statement emphasizing “the importance of reassessing the international strategy of recent decades regarding Palestinian question so that a new political spirit emerges from the current crisis. This change should lead “in a short period of time to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, with the borders of June 1967 and East Jerusalem as its capital”.
In an analysis of Arab countries shared by many European governments, the Egyptian statement criticizes the fact that “the international scene in recent decades has revealed a serious deficiency when it comes to finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian problem, because she sought to manage the conflict instead of ending it definitively. And, echoing Arab complaints, he assures that “while we see one side rushing and competing to quickly condemn the killing of innocent people, we see an incomprehensible hesitation to denounce the same act on the other side.” We even see attempts to justify these murders, as if the lives of Palestinian human beings were less important than that of others.
Despite their disagreements over whether to throw more ink against Israel or Hamas, all leaders agreed on the need of both States guarantee peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinians.
“Will this region always live in conflict? Isn’t it time to find a solution?” asked the Egyptian president. Abdulfateh al-Sissi, in his opening speech, which was a harsh plea against “the silence of the international community on the siege of Gaza”. In addition to warning that “Egypt will not allow the liquidation of the Palestinian cause”, he demanded a “just solution based on the two states”. Regarding the Rafah border crossing, which was opened to the first convoy of trucks, he assured that “we did not close it, but the Israeli bombings on Gaza prevented the distribution of humanitarian aid.”
next to the king Abdullah II of Jordanthe emir of Qatar, Tamin bin Hamad al Thaniand the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Soudanithe Palestinian president was also present on the Arab side, Mahmoud Abbas. “We will never accept the forced displacement of Palestinians, even under bombs. From day one, we called for an end to this barbaric aggression and the opening of humanitarian corridors, but Israel did not listen. “We seek a peaceful solution because we are the only legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people,” Abbas proposed.
The absence of Israel
But his words and the willingness of the participants to advocate for the separation of the two states are falling apart. the absence of the Israeli summit, which completes a ground military operation in Gaza to destroy Hamas. Such an intervention could further aggravate the crisis by opening another front with Hezbollah in Lebanon and mobilizing Iran, the country suspected of being behind the brutal Hamas attack on October 7. To dissuade and convince Israel, we will have to see what influence Europe, which announced additional aid of one million dollars for Gaza, and especially the United States, which sent a second-level diplomat, can have.
“UNITED STATES. “He is equally in favor of both states, but everyone knows that this government of Israel is not,” replied the EU’s high representative for foreign policy to ABC. Joseph Borrell, at the end of the summit. At the head of the EU during this semester, the interim president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchezalso called for a two-state solution and recalled the examples of the Madrid summit in 1991 and the Oslo summit in 1993.
The meeting, attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, foreign ministers of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, as well as representatives of China and Canada, coincided with the first opening of the Rafah terminal for send humanitarian aid to Gaza. Expecting such convoys to start regularly on Monday was just a drop in the desert. Something similar to this summit held in the luxurious St. Regis Al Masa hotel complex, in Egypt’s new administrative capital, just outside Cairo and still under construction in the middle of nowhere.
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