Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi refuted accusations against his country about “the closure of the Rafah crossing, and the prevention of the entry of aid.” He said in a televised speech on the situation in Gaza: “We cannot prevent the entry of this aid … neither our ethics nor our values allow this, not even the envelope or national responsibility allows this.” He urged his American counterpart Donald Trump to make an effort to stop the war, as he was “able to do so.”
The improvised Egyptian president’s speech broadcast by local channels live on the air, at a time when Egypt faces accusations on social media of “closing the Rafah crossing, and preventing the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip”, which are accusations that Cairo has repeatedly denied, and promised “malicious propaganda” aimed at distorting its supporting role for the Palestinian issue.
Al -Sisi pointed out that his speech at this current stage “comes at a time when a lot of speech is raised” regarding Egypt’s position. He said: “I must mention people with our positions, which were always positive, calling for the end of the war, a two -state solution, and a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue.” He added, “We had a clear position regarding the refusal of the displacement, because we imagined that the displacement process would lead to the emptying of the idea of a two -state solution, or the failure to establish the Palestinian state.”
And Egypt has previously repeatedly rejected the displacement of the Palestinians inside or outside their lands, and hosted an emergency Arab summit last March, which adopted a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip with its residents remain.
In his speech, the Egyptian President stressed “his country’s keenness to introduce the largest amount of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.” Al -Sisi directed his speech to the Egyptians, saying: “I want to say to all Egyptians, never imagine that we can play a negative role towards the brothers in Palestine, and despite the difficulty of the situation, it cannot be conceived to do that … Egypt has a respectable, honorable, loyal and faithful role that does not change and will not change.
Al -Sisi pointed out that his country “is working to introduce the largest amount of aid, and we seek to stop the war, release the hostages, achieve the idea of a two -state solution,” describing the situation within the Gaza Strip as “tragic, and unbearable.” He said: “The largest volume of aid must be introduced to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. The sector needs between 600 to 700 trucks per day in normal circumstances.”
Al -Sisi pointed out that «Egypt has been keen since the events of October 7 (October) to participate positively with its partners in Qatar and the United States for three specific points, the first is to stop the war, the second to introduce aid, and the third is to release the hostages.
He said, “The aid to the Gaza Strip represents an important point that was addressed during the last period.” He stressed that «during the past 21 months, Egypt has been keen to introduce the largest size of aid, bearing in mind that the Rafah crossing is (the individuals crossing), and its operation is linked to the presence of a party on the other side, and that there are five crossings connected to the sector in addition to the Karam Abu Salem and Rafah crossing,” stressing that the Rafah crossing “was not closed from the Egyptian side.”
Al -Sisi explained that the size of the existing and available aid, and the trucks that are ready to enter the sector since the beginning of the crisis until now “is very huge.” He said, “There are many details that are discussed in the discussions with the Israeli and Palestinian sides, with the strong and sincere participation of siblings in Qatar, and also by the United States of America,” noting that “the past months were all the effort to reach this solution, and things were stumbling sometimes, and sometimes succeeded, and then stumbled again.”
Al -Sisi urged his American counterpart to make every efforts to end the war in Gaza, and to allow aid to enter the Strip. He said, “Trump is able to stop the war, introduce aid, and end this suffering.” He added, adding his speech to Trump: “I have a special appeal to you, please make every effort to stop the war and enter aid. And I imagine that it is time to end this war. ”
At the end of his speech, Sisi made a general appeal to all countries of the world, the countries of the European Union, the United States, and the brothers in the Arab region, to make the utmost efforts during this difficult period to stop the war, introduce aid, and end this crisis.
The last days have witnessed demands to open the Rafah crossing, and accusations of Egypt of “participating in the siege of the Gaza Strip”, while organizing protest stops in front of some Egyptian embassies in the countries of the world, and closing its gates, at a time when Cairo has repeatedly confirmed that “the Rafah crossing is open on its part”, and that Israel is responsible for preventing the entry of aid.
For his part, a member of the Egyptian Senate (the second chamber in Parliament), Dr. Abdel Moneim Saeed, told Asharq Al -Awsat that “Kamla Al -Sisi comes in response to a terrible campaign against Egypt in the recent period trying to exploit the situation in Gaza to distort the role of Cairo and destroy confidence in the state.”
He pointed out that “these accusations have already been repeated since the beginning of the Gaza war, with the aim of provoking Egypt and igniting a war in the region,” stressing that “Cairo’s position on supporting the Palestinian issue and assisting the people of Gaza by distributing aid through the relevant international organizations.” He said: «Egypt will not be drawn into a battlefield, because this is against its national interests, and at the same time it does not overlook the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
This is not the first time that calls have spread on social media, asking Egypt to “open the Rafah crossing”, but this time it has evolved into the call for movements on the ground threatening the headquarters of Egyptian embassies abroad.
Dr. Amr Al -Shobaki, the adviser to Al -Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, promised to appeal to Sisi to Trump, “in her place.” He said, “All factors confirm that Trump is able to end the war.” Al -Shobaki added to Asharq Al -Awsat that “the essence of the messages in the speech of Sisi is certainly related to Egypt’s steadfast position on the Palestinian issue and the introduction of aid.”
He stressed that “the successive developments required Egypt to pursue an official media speech that confirms on a daily basis its support for Gaza and its residents in light of the catastrophic situation they live, without waiting for the statements to be in response to invitations to incitement or accusations.”
