Aboul Gheit stated that Israel’s incursions, violent assaults, and killings in northern West Bank cities, along with the destruction of infrastructure and hospital sieges, are part of a concerning effort to subjugate the Palestinian people….reports Asian Lite News
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit has condemned the recent deadly Israeli military operation in northern West Bank.
The “raids, brutal attacks, and killings” conducted by Israel in the northern West Bank, coupled with the destruction of infrastructure and the besieging of hospitals there, represent a serious escalation that threatens to push the region to the brink of catastrophe, he said on Wednesday in a statement.
“This aggressive approach aims to subjugate the Palestinian people, undermine existing agreements, and further annex Palestinian territories as part of an extreme right-wing agenda,” he added.
Israel has been waging a “genocide war” against the Palestinians everywhere, with an aim to make their lives untenable, he said.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Aboul Gheit said that Israel’s incursions, violent attacks, and killings in northern West Bank cities, as well as the destruction of infrastructure and the siege of hospitals, are part of a troubling trend to subjugate the Palestinian people, Xinhua news agency reported.
He added that this trend cannot be separated from the dangerous and totally unacceptable statements made by far-right Ministers in the Israeli government about the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Secretary-General of the Arab League accused Israel of conducting a war of extermination against Palestinians, asserting that the military operations in the West Bank are unrelated to the October 7 attacks.
He emphasised that the objective is to render life unbearable for Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, employing ongoing violence as a means of intimidation and advancing plans for displacement and the eradication of their cause.
Aboul-Gheit accused the US of failing to exert meaningful pressure on Israel and of yielding to Israeli maneuvers and procrastination, which has hindered efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
He urged the US to take a clear stance on the recent Israeli military actions in the West Bank and to address the growing Israeli arrogance in the region.
According to Palestinian and Israeli sources, Israel on Wednesday carried out a large-scale military operation in the West Bank cities of Jenin, Tubas, and Tulkarm, as well as their camps, killing at least nine Palestinians, destructing local infrastructure, and imposing a siege on the three cities.
Israel has been carrying out almost daily raids in the West Bank since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out on October 7, 2023.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 660 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks across the West Bank since the onset of the conflict.
This initiative demonstrates the urgent need for humanitarian intervention and reaffirms the UAE’s steadfast commitment to supporting the people of Gaza amidst the catastrophic situation….reports Asian Lite News
As part of its unwavering humanitarian commitment to the brotherly Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the United Arab Emirates, in partnership with World Health Organisation (WHO), has announced an urgent initiative to evacuate 85 sick and severely injured Palestinians, including cancer patients in need of extensive treatment, accompanied by 63 family members to Abu Dhabi from Ramon airport in Israel, via the Karam Abu Salem crossing.
This initiative demonstrates the urgent need for humanitarian intervention and reaffirms the UAE’s steadfast commitment to supporting the people of Gaza amidst the catastrophic situation. The UAE’s various lines of communication continue to facilitate the humanitarian efforts to assist the people of Gaza, and extend a helping hand during their time of need.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 10, 2023.(Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua/IANS)
Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said: “At this critical time, the urgency of our mission to evacuate injured Palestinians to Abu Dhabi cannot be overstated. This unprecedented route reflects the gravity of the situation and our resolute commitment to alleviating the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip and to ensure the arrival and distribution of relief through all available means, including land, sea and air. This initiative stands as a testament to the UAE’s enduring and historic support for the Palestinian people, guided by our unwavering dedication to providing immediate relief and advancing peace in the face of immense adversity.”
She underlined that to date, the UAE has welcomed 709 patients from Gaza, along with 787 of their family members, to receive medical treatment. This follows the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, to provide care for 2,000 injured and cancer patients from Gaza.
“This significant scale-up in our efforts demonstrates our solidarity with the Palestinian people and our determination to alleviate their suffering and ensure urgent, sustainable, unhindered delivery of aid, at a wide scale and through all possible means. We remain resolute in our collaboration with international partners to ensure that our aid reaches those in desperate need,” she added.
“For his part, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, said: “We are thankful to the UAE for supporting the evacuation of sick and injured people from Gaza to receive the urgent care they need. We hope this paves the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes, including the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings to Egypt and Jordan, and from there to other countries. We also call for evacuations to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored. Thousands of sick people are suffering needlessly. Above all, and as always, WHO calls for a ceasefire.”
Notably to date, the UAE has provided over 40,000 tonnes of crucial aid, including food, relief, and medical items, through 8 aid ships, 337 flights, 50 airdrops, and 1,271 trucks. The fourth UAE relief ship arrived in Al-Arish this week, marking the eighth shipment of aid, which carried 5,340 tonnes of humanitarian supplies, and is the largest shipment since the launch of the relief operations.
UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that “chaos and panic” are spreading in southern Gaza following the orders….reports Asian Lite News
After the Israeli authorities issued new evacuation orders in the Khan Younis area of Gaza, around 2,50,000 people are expected to face displacement, UN humanitarians warned in a report on Tuesday.
UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that “chaos and panic” are spreading in southern Gaza following the orders.
Gazans fleeing the southern city were forced to erect shelters at the water’s edge because displacement camps were already packed at the coast.
A few weeks ago, Khan Younis was left deserted after intense Israeli bombardment. But many families with few other options went there after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) moved into Rafah at the beginning of May, the report stated.
“It’s another devasting blow to the humanitarian response here, it’s another devasting blow to the people, the families on the ground. It seems that they’ve been forcibly displaced again and again,” said UNRWA Senior Communications Officer Louise Wateridge.
Those forced to move now had a series of “impossible” decisions to make, she added.
“How do parents decide where to go; where is there to go? Already by this morning, just to the middle Gaza area, along the coastal road, you can see the makeshift shelters right up to the shoreline, right up to the water coming in. It is absolutely packed with families who have already had to move,” Wateridge said.
The UNRWA officer noted that heavy bombardment has continued “in the north, middle and south areas of the Gaza Strip…no place is safe. Already on the ground, we are seeing families move away from this area. There is more chaos and panic spreading on the ground.”
Despite a lack of fuel and safety, Wateridge insisted that the UN agency has continued to deliver water, food parcels, flour, nappies, mattresses, tarpaulins and healthcare.
“But it is becoming almost impossible for the UN to provide any kind of response due to the Israeli imposed siege…and now further displacement orders that once again impact our access to the Kerem Shalom border crossing to receive aid”.
Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has raised deep concerns about the lack of aid reaching Gaza and said that it has “significantly compromised” care in the enclave.
Gaza’s healthcare sector alone requires 80,000 litres of fuel every day to function but only 1,95,000-2,00,000 litres last arrived at the end of June; “since then, no fuel has entered Gaza,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
The WHO official also explained that the shipment had to be shared by all sectors including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) requiring 70,000 litres a day.
“As a result, hospitals are once again short on fuel, risking disruption to critical services are injured people are dying because ambulance services are facing delays due to shortage of fuel,” Dr Balkhy said, adding that a lack of gasoline and diesel were also affecting essential water and sanitation services such as water, delivery, sewage pumping and waste collection.
From 15 to 23 June the water and sanitation cluster received less than five per cent of the fuel required daily to keep services running and as a result, water service providers “are forced to ration operations of municipal groundwater wells and the two working water desalination plants, reducing water production even more,” the report stated.
This is “significantly contributing to the spread of diseases”, the WHO official said, while further highlighting concerning spikes in the number of adults and children suffering from waterborne diseases such as hepatitis A, diarrhoea, skin conditions and others. (ANI)
The ministers also called for the effective implementation of the UNSC resolution for an “immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire…reports Asian Lite News
The BRICS Foreign Ministers expressed “grave concern” regarding the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip that has led to mass civilian displacement, death and casualties, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
The ministers also called for the effective implementation of the UNSC resolution for an “immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire” and the relevant UNGA resolutions and UNSC resolution for immediate safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
The conflict escalated on October 7 after Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel killing over 1200 people and holding around 250 as hostages.
Following this, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive, carrying out military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip with the aim of “completely eliminating” Hamas. However, the operations have led to massive civilian casualties with over 37,000 Palestinians have been killed.
“The Ministers expressed grave concern at the deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli military operation that led to mass civilian displacement, death and casualties, and destruction of civilian infrastructure,” the joint statement of BRICS foreign ministers meeting read.
“In this regard, they called for the effective implementation of the relevant UNGA resolutions and UNSC resolution 2720 and for immediate safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip. They also called for the effective implementation of the UNSC resolution 2728 for an immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire,” it added.
The Foreign Ministers met at the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod on Monday.
Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), led the Indian side at the meeting, in what was the first foreign assignment for India’s foreign policy under the historic third consecutive term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The ministers also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and civilians who are being illegally held captive, the joint statement read.
They further expressed grave concern by the increasing attacks by Israel on Rafah, which would compound the dire humanitarian situation. The ministers condemned the Israeli military operation in Rafah and its ramifications that directly impact civilian lives, especially in view of the “high density of Palestinian civilians in this location”, and the “humanitarian catastrophic” results due to the suspension of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.
The ministers also reaffirmed their rejection of any attempt aiming at forcefully displacing, expelling, or transferring the Palestinian people from their land. Furthermore, they cautioned against the spillover effects of the escalation of tensions to the rest of the Middle East region.
They acknowledged the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in the legal proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel. The Ministers expressed serious concern at “Israel’s continued blatant disregard” of international law, the UN Charter, UN resolutions and Court orders.
“The Ministers reaffirmed their support for Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations and reiterated their unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution based on international law including relevant UNSC and UNGA resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative that includes the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine in line with internationally recognized borders of June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital living side by side in peace and security with Israel,” the statement read.
The ministers expressed serious concern over the prevailing conflicts and the continuing threats posed by terrorist organizations in various sub-regions of Africa and over remaining conflict potential in the Sahel region, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Great Lakes Region, and in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Sudan as well as growing activity of numerous terrorist groups and insurgents.
The Ministers reiterated their call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan and unimpeded access of the Sudanese population to humanitarian assistance, and the scaling up of humanitarian assistance to Sudan and neighboring states.
The Foreign Ministers expressed serious concern with the ongoing deterioration of the security, humanitarian, political and economic situation in Haiti.
“They stressed that the current crisis requires a Haitian-led solution that encompasses national dialogue and consensus building among local political forces, institutions and the society and called on the international community to support the Haitian endeavours to dismantle the gangs, enhance the security situation and put in place the foundations for long-lasting social and economic development in the country,” the statement read.
The Ministers also emphasized the need for an urgent peaceful settlement in Afghanistan in order to strengthen regional security and stability.
They advocated for Afghanistan as an independent, united and peaceful state free from terrorism, war and drugs. They urged for more visible and verifiable measures in Afghanistan to ensure that the territory of Afghanistan is not used by terrorists.
“They further stressed the need to provide urgent and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and to safeguard the fundamental rights of all Afghans including women, girls, and different ethnic groups. They emphasized the primary and effective role of regional platforms and neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and welcomed the efforts of such regional platforms and initiatives to facilitate the Afghan settlement,” the statement added.
This is the first meeting of foreign ministers since the expansion of BRICS in 2023. The 10 full members of the association include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with new members Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia joining the grouping in 2023.
Russia took over the chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2024. (ANI)
Four vessels serving a floating aid delivery pier broke free from their moorings.
Heavy seas battered the US maritime humanitarian mission to Gaza on Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, with four vessels serving a floating aid delivery pier breaking free from their moorings.
No injuries were reported and the aid pier remains fully functional, CENTCOM said in a statement, adding that no US personnel would enter Gaza.
Two of the affected vessels were now anchored on the beach near the pier and the other two were beached on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon, CENTCOM said, adding that efforts to recover the vessels were under way with assistance from the Israeli Navy.
A six-day-old US pier project in Gaza is starting to get more aid to Palestinians in need but conditions are challenging, US officials said Thursday. That reflects the larger problems bringing food and other supplies to starving people in the besieged territory.
The floating pier had a troubled launch, with crowds overrunning some of the first trucks coming from the new US-led sea route and taking its contents over the weekend. One man in the crowd was shot dead in still-unexplained circumstances. It led to a two-day suspension of aid distribution.
The US military worked with the UN and Israeli officials to select safer alternate routes for trucks coming from the pier, US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told reporters Thursday.
As a result, the US pier on Wednesday accounted for 27 of the 70 total trucks of aid that the UN was able to round up from all land and sea crossings into Gaza for distribution to civilians, the United States said.
That’s a fraction of the 150 truckloads of food, emergency nutrition treatment and other supplies that US officials aim to bring in when the sea route is working at maximum capacity.
(Photo: US Central Command)
Plus, Gaza needs 600 trucks entering each day, according to the US Agency for International Development, to curb a famine that the heads of USAID and the UN World Food Program have said has begun in the north and to keep it from spreading south.
Only one of the 54 trucks that came from the pier Tuesday and Wednesday encountered any security issues on their way to aid warehouses and distribution points, US officials said. They called the issues “minor” but gave no details.
A deepening Israeli offensive in the southern city of Rafah has made it impossible for aid shipments to get through the crossing there, which is a key source for fuel and food coming into Gaza. Israel says it is bringing aid in through another border crossing, Kerem Shalom, but humanitarian organizations say Israeli military operations make it difficult for them to retrieve the aid there for distribution.
The Biden administration last week launched the $320 million floating pier for a new maritime aid route into Gaza as the seven-month-old Israel-Hamas war and Israeli restrictions on land crossings have severely limited food deliveries to 2.3 million Palestinians.
For all humanitarian efforts, “the risks are manifold,” Daniel Dieckhaus, USAID’s response director for Gaza, said at a briefing with Cooper. “This is an active conflict with deteriorating conditions.”
Dieckhaus rejected charges from some aid groups that the pier is diverting attention from what the US, UN and relief workers say is the essential need for Israel to allow full access to land crossings for humanitarian shipments.
For instance, Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official now leading Refugees International, tweeted that “the pier is humanitarian theater.”
“I would not call, within a couple of days, getting enough food and other supplies for tens of thousands of people for a month theater,” Dieckhaus said Thursday when asked about the criticism.
At maximum capacity, the pier would bring in enough food for 500,000 of Gaza’s people. US officials stressed the need for flow through open land crossings for the remaining 1.8 million.
Shortly after its reopening on May 8, militants fired eight rockets from southern Gaza’s Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing area in Israel….reports Asian Lite News
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that distributing humanitarian aid “is almost impossible” in Gaza, due to the irregular fuel supply and interrupted communications amid the ongoing intense war between Israel and Hamas.
OCHA in a statement posted on social media platform X on Thursday said that key crossings for aid into Gaza have been closed for several days and now the access to the Palestinian enclave is neither safe nor logistically feasible.
On May 5, Israel closed the only commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom with Gaza, in response to a Hamas rocket attack on an Israeli military point nearby that killed four soldiers.
Shortly after its reopening on May 8, militants fired eight rockets from southern Gaza’s Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing area in Israel.
The attack came after the Israeli army announced on May 7 “operational control” of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, which in effect closed this crucial entry point for truckloads of aid from Egypt into Gaza.
OCHA and other humanitarian organizations warned of the devastating impact of the crossings’ closure on over 2 million Palestinians in war-stricken Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Thursday, the Jordan Armed Forces said it conducted three airdrops of humanitarian aid over various locations in southern Gaza.
The move was part of Jordan’s commitment to assisting Gazans to overcome the difficult conditions, said the army without detailing further.
Earlier in the day, local sources and eyewitnesses in Gaza told Xinhua that aircraft were seen flying over and dropping food aid through parachutes in Al-Mawasi, an open area along the enclave’s southwestern coast that is now flocked with residents coming at the Israeli army’s evacuation order.
This is the first eyewitness report of an aid drop operation in Rafah since the Israeli army’s renewed attacks on the southernmost Gazan city last week.
Dr. Kaabi affirmed that the field hospital has provided care to 20,686 patients and has performed more than 1,752 surgeries….reports Asian Lite News
The Emirati Field Hospital in the Gaza Strip remains steadfast in delivering vital medical services to the residents despite the current significant challenges.
Dr. Sultan Al Kaabi, Hospital Director, highlighted Gaza’s critical medical situation, which is facing a severe shortage of supplies and equipment as several hospitals are out of service.
Despite these obstacles, Dr. Kaabi affirmed that the field hospital has provided care to 20,686 patients and has performed more than 1,752 surgeries.
Established under “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3”, the field hospital prioritises serving the most vulnerable, including children, women, and those with chronic diseases.
Furthermore, Dr. Kaabi emphasised the ongoing collaboration with officials of Gaza’s medical sector to ensure continued support and provide essential medical care to those in need.
UN staffer killed in Rafah
Israel army’s gunfire killed a UN staffer, an Indian, and injured another UN employee in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza, the Hamas-run media office said.
In a statement, the media office said on Monday that the UN staffers were travelling in a vehicle belonging to the UN and bearing UN flags and markings when they were hit, Xinhua news agency reported.
The death of the UN staffer was confirmed by the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday in a statement that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah this morning”.
Sending his condolences to the family of the fallen UN staffer, he condemned all attacks on UN personnel and called for a full investigation.
Meanwhile, Israeli public radio reported that the Israeli army is investigating the shooting incident at a United Nations vehicle, indicating that the source of the fire is unknown.
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces continue their operations in three towns in the strip, including Rafah, Jabalia and Zeitoun, to stop Hamas from “reorganising its ranks”.
The health authorities in Gaza reported 57 deaths and 82 injuries in the besieged enclave on Monday, bringing the total death toll and injuries since the break of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, respectively, to 35,901 and 78,827.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.
The deployment of the JLOTS capability has been delayed due to adverse weather conditions….reports Asian Lite News
Aimed at facilitating humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the United States has announced the completion of construction for the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system in the Mediterranean Sea.
Speaking at a briefing, Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary, confirmed the successful offshore construction of the Trident pier section, known as “the causeway,” which will be anchored to the Gaza shore. She highlighted the completion of both the Trident pier and the floating pier sections, marking a crucial milestone in the JLOTS project.
Singh revealed that the cargo ship MV Sagamore is currently docked in Cyprus, undergoing loading with humanitarian aid destined for Gaza. The Sagamore, a U.S.-registered commercial vessel, will utilize the JLOTS system to transport aid between Cyprus and a temporary floating pier located several miles off the coast of Gaza.
The operational process involves unloading cargo from the Sagamore onto Army-owned landing craft utility ships (LCUs) and logistic support vessels (LSVs) at sea. These vessels will then proceed towards Gaza, where they will rendezvous with the Trident pier. Upon arrival, trucks onboard the LCUs and LSVs will drive onto the pier, facilitating the staging of humanitarian aid supplies for distribution within Gaza.
Initial projections anticipate approximately 90 truckloads of supplies transiting the causeway daily, with the capacity to increase to 150 trucks per day once operations reach full capacity. Singh outlined a phased approach, likening the initial stages to a “crawl, walk, run” scenario to ensure the smooth functioning of the system.
While acknowledging the significance of the JLOTS system, Singh emphasized that it complements, rather than replaces, existing land routes for aid delivery into Gaza. She reiterated the importance of opening land crossings to facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance seamlessly.
Despite the completion of construction, deployment of the JLOTS capability has been delayed due to adverse weather conditions. The floating and Trident piers, currently situated off the coast of Israel near the Port of Ashdod, are unable to be moved to their final location due to forecasted high winds and sea swells.
Since March 2, U.S. Central Command, in collaboration with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, has conducted nearly 40 humanitarian missions, airdropping close to 1,200 tons of aid into Gaza. While the JLOTS construction represents a significant step forward, deployment awaits favorable weather conditions for safe transportation to the Gaza shoreline.
The convoy consists of 12 trucks carrying over 264 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, water and dates….reports Asian Lite News
An Emirati aid convoy entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday via the Egyptian Rafah crossing as part of “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3” to support and relieve the Palestinian people during their current circumstances.
The convoy consists of 12 trucks carrying over 264 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, water and dates.
This brings the total number of aid trucks entering the Strip, as part of “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3”, to 440 trucks, alleviating the severe conditions faced by the people of Gaza and providing their basic needs.
As of 1st May 2024, the Emirati aid provided to the Palestinian people through “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3” exceeded 22,436 tonnes. This aid, transported via 220 cargo planes and three cargo ships, is collected in Al Arish Port before being transported into Gaza through trucks via the Rafah crossing.
The Operation also includes implementing the “Birds of Goodness” operation, which involves aerial drops of humanitarian supplies. Until yesterday, 43 drops have been conducted, delivering a total of 3,000 tonnes of food and relief materials to inaccessible isolated areas in Gaza.
Since its establishment, the UAE field hospital in Gaza has received more than 18,970 cases, with an additional 152 cases evacuated to the UAE Floating Hospital in Al Arish Port. Additionally, 166 cases have been transferred to the UAE for treatment.
The UAE had established six desalination plants with a production capacity of 1.2 million gallons per day, benefiting the Gaza population.
Egypt, France warn against Rafah op
Egypt and France have reaffirmed their complete rejection of any ground military operation in Rafah, Gaza Strip, due to its potential humanitarian risks and its threat to regional stability as a result of the presence of more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip.
This came in a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Foreign Minister, today received French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné, who paid a flying visit to Cairo at the end of his current tour of the region.
Baerbock took part in a meeting of Arab and European foreign ministers in Riyadh, initiated by Saudi Arabia and Norway…reports Asian Lite News
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has spoken out in favour of more humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and a two-state solution, during the talks with counterparts from Western and Arab countries in Riyadh.
During the talks, Baerbock emphasised that an independent Palestine state as a part of a comprehensive peace process and a two-state solution remains a clear goal of German policy, according to reports from German delegation circles on Monday evening.
Baerbock took part in a meeting of Arab and European foreign ministers in Riyadh, initiated by Saudi Arabia and Norway, at which the prospect of a two-state solution and the recognition of Palestine was on the agenda.
A two-state solution foresees the peaceful co-existence of Israel and a Palestinian state based on the borders of the Palestinian Territories occupied by Israel since 1967 – the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
However, Israel’s government rejects such a two-state solution outright, whereas, the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas has said it wants an independent Palestinian state but will not officially recognise the state of Israel.
Baerbock also made it clear “that there is now an urgent need for improved humanitarian access to Gaza and the release of the hostages,” it was reported after the talks.
She also held confidential talks with Arab and Western colleagues in Riyadh on the specific steps needed to end the fighting and find a sustainable solution to the conflict.
The ministers, including Baerbock’s US counterpart Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, met in Riyadh on the fringes of a two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) conference. Israel did not take part in the talks.
