On Tuesday, Cairo denounced statements by Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, which it considered held Egypt responsible for preventing a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Foreign Minister wrote on the X platform (earlier known as Twitter) that “The world places the responsibility for the humanitarian situation on Israel, but the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends.”
Yesterday, I spoke with UK Foreign Secretary @David_Cameron and German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock about the need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza. Today, I will discuss the matter with…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 14, 2024
The Israeli Foreign Minister pointed out that he spoke with the British Foreign Minister, David Cameron, and the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, about “the necessity of convincing Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing, allowing the continued transfer of international humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
For its part, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it rejects “the policy of denying the facts and shirking responsibility followed by the Israeli side.”
The ministry said in a statement: “In response to the statements of the Israeli Foreign Minister demanding the reopening of the Rafah crossing and holding Egypt responsible for preventing a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, affirmed Egypt’s categorical rejection of the policy of distorting the facts and disavowing responsibility followed by the Israeli side.” Stressing that Israel is solely responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinians are currently facing in the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister considered the Israeli control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, and the Israeli military invasion in the vicinity of the crossing, “and the resulting exposure of the lives of relief workers and truck drivers to imminent dangers, to be the main reason for the inability to bring in aid from the crossing.”
Shukry strongly denounced “the desperate attempts by the Israeli side to hold Egypt responsible for the unprecedented humanitarian crisis facing the Gaza Strip, which is a direct result of indiscriminate Israeli attacks against the Palestinians for more than seven months, in which more than 35,000 citizens were killed, most of them women and children.”
The Egyptian Foreign Minister called on Israel to fulfill its legal responsibility as the occupying power, by allowing aid to enter through the land ports under its control.
A high-ranking Egyptian source told local media that there is no truth to what the Israeli Foreign Minister said about Egypt’s responsibility for closing the Rafah crossing.
The source added that the closure of the crossing came “due to the unjustified escalation carried out by Israel in the Palestinian city of Rafah,” according to The Eastern Herald’s correspondent.
The Cairo News Channel quoted the senior source as saying, “The closure of the Rafah crossing resulted from the Israeli escalation… and is not Egypt’s responsibility.”
Relations between Egypt and Israel witnessed tension after the Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, as Cairo refused to coordinate with Israel in the entry of aid from the Rafah crossing due to the “unacceptable Israeli escalation,” according to what the Egyptian Cairo News Channel reported on Saturday, quoting an Egyptian official. Thin.
On Sunday, Egypt announced it was joining South Africa in the lawsuit it filed before the International Court of Justice against Israel on charges of committing the crime of “genocide.”
During a phone call on Monday with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned of “the dire humanitarian consequences that will affect more than 1.4 million Palestinians as a result of the closure of the Rafah crossing and the continuation of large-scale Israeli attacks.”
Earlier, The Eastern Herald reported that the last round of negotiations in Cairo aimed at brokering a ceasefire to halt Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in genocide and ethnic cleansing of millions of Palestinians, ended without resolution, further deepening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite intensive discussions, Israel’s rejection of proposed terms for a ceasefire agreement and its subsequent ground invasion in Rafah indicate a calculated strategy to maintain leverage.
Also, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, labeled Israel’s military aggression in Gaza as genocide, citing over 30,000 Palestinian deaths, including more than 13,000 children, and 71,000 injuries. She urged immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel. Israel rejected the findings, maintaining its conflict is with Hamas, not civilians. Gulf and African nations supported Albanese’s report, while the US, Israel’s ally, abstained from the session.
