Egypt threatens the collapse of the peace agreement with Israel and confirms that its intentions are no longer hidden
Egypt’s representative to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Osama Abdel Khaleq, stressed that Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip threaten the five-decade-old peace process in an unimaginable way, posing risks to the entire region.
In his speech at the UN Security Council session on the situation in the Middle East on Tuesday evening, the Egyptian diplomat said that Israel’s intentions are no longer hidden, but rather that Israeli statements and actions confirm a genuine drive to reengineer the Palestinian presence in Gaza.
The Egyptian Ambassador explained that Israel is seeking to displace a large portion of the Gaza Strip’s population through military operations, starvation, and the destruction of the basic necessities of life, steps that Egypt completely rejects.
He pointed out that the Israeli ground military operation in the Gaza Strip falls within the framework of implementing this malicious plan, which Egypt rejects, along with all its consequences.
He affirmed Egypt’s continued mediation efforts, in cooperation with Qatar and the United States, until the war is halted. He also noted Egypt’s intention to hold an international conference for Palestinian recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip immediately after the ceasefire and to address the displacement plan.
He stated that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a catastrophic level due to the numerous obstacles placed by Israel to prevent the entry of aid and the work of the United Nations and humanitarian organizations within the Strip, creating an unprecedentedly tragic situation and pushing the people of Gaza to the brink of famine.
Egypt and Israel are bound by a peace treaty signed in Washington on March 26, 1979, between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli President Menachem Begin.
The agreement, brokered by the United States, ended the state of war between the two countries after the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973.
It established the first cold peace in the Middle East, with security arrangements such as a buffer zone in Sinai and the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Gaza.
Since then, Egypt has maintained its role as a key mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, particularly in Gaza, where it cooperated with Qatar and the United States on ceasefire efforts.
However, tensions between the two countries have escalated due to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, with Israeli operations in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor leading to Egyptian fears of a mass displacement of Palestinians toward Sinai, which would be considered a violation of the agreement.
