Only US can break violence cycle in Gaza: Egypt FM Shoukry
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said only the US can break the cycle of violence in Gaza, urging it to leverage its influence over Israel to prevent further bloodshed.
“Only the United States has the overall ability to influence conditions, motivate all sides concerned to find the point of convergence, and break the cycle of violence,” CNBS quoted Shoukry as saying during an interview on Sunday at a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Riyadh.
A Hamas delegation is due to arrive Monday in Egypt to respond to Israel's latest proposal for a captive release deal and truce in the Gaza Strip, as mediators stepped up efforts to seal a deal as Israel threatens to raid the Palestinian border city of Rafah.
“The scale of devastation and loss in terms of civilian casualties necessitates immediate ceasefire to … avoid further causalities and displacement,” Shoukry said.
He also urged for moderation and for recognizing that ending the conflict is in favor of all parties and the entire region, calling for a political horizon that addresses the Palestinian cause.
Moreover, the minister affirmed that implementing the two-state solution and establishing a Palestinian state is the only way to ensure security for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Shoukry stressed that both sides should demonstrate political will and flexibility to reach a ceasefire and captive release deal, refusing to give details on the current ceasefire proposal.
Per Israeli media reports, Egypt has proposed the release of 33 Israeli captives, including women, the elderly, and the ill, in return for a three-week ceasefire and revival of the deadlocked talks.
In late November, Egypt and Qatar helped mediate a week-long ceasefire when Hamas freed over 100 captives in exchange for 240 detained Palestinian women and children.
However, subsequent talks have failed to progress on a ceasefire or detainee swap deal.
Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and injured over 77,000, mostly children and women, in its more-than-six-month war on Gaza.
Additionally, the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee members urged on Sunday, on the WEF sidelines, the international community to impose effective sanctions on Israel.
They called for stopping the export of weapons to Israel over violating international law and international humanitarian law and committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
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