On the impact of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since last October, and the recent tensions between Cairo and Tel Aviv, Saudi Arabia commented on what is happening.
Condemnation and denunciation
On Tuesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed the kingdom’s strong condemnation and condemnation of the Israeli statements regarding the Philadelphia axis.
She added in a statement that what was issued by Tel Aviv are just vain attempts to justify Israel’s continued violations of international laws and norms, stressing its solidarity and standing by Egypt in the face of these allegations.
The kingdom also warned of the consequences of these provocative statements, and the consequences of undermining the mediation efforts being carried out by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States of America to reach a permanent ceasefire.
The Israeli allegations exacerbate the dangerous escalation in the region.
The kingdom also warned of the consequences of these provocative statements and the consequences of undermining the mediation efforts of Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a permanent ceasefire.
The Israeli allegations exacerbate the dangerous escalation in the region.
At the end of its statement, the ministry stressed the importance of putting an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people and the need for concerted international efforts to enable them to their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The kingdom’s statement came following the recent tensions between Egypt and Israel against the backdrop of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement in his recent speech that Israeli forces should retain control of the Philadelphia axis (Salah al-Din) at the border between Gaza and Egypt to prevent the leakage of weapons, pledging “not to succumb to pressure” on this issue in the ceasefire talks, a step that Egypt completely rejects.
The Egyptian response came as the foreign ministry expressed its complete rejection of Netanyahu’s statement on Tuesday, stressing that his words are only an attempt to use Egypt’s name in order to distract the attention of Israeli public opinion and obstruct reaching a deal on a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of detainees.
She added that these statements hinder the mediation efforts carried out by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, stressing her rejection of all the allegations addressed by Israeli officials in this regard.
Cairo also blamed the Israeli government for the consequences of making such statements that further aggravate the situation and are aimed at justifying aggressive and inflammatory policies that lead to further escalation in the region.
The dilemma of the Philadelphia corridor
For weeks now, the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5-kilometer strip of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, has been forming the knot in talks on a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas and a cease-fire in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
Months of intermittent negotiations have so far failed to reach an agreement on a proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden in May for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange, amid Netanyahu’s insistence on a military presence in various locations in Gaza.
