Egypt-EU Summit calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

CAIRO: The Egyptian-European summit today stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel's aggression. During a joint press conference after the summit, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi urged European leaders to exert substantial efforts to secure an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and to scale up humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip to alleviate the devastating humanitarian catastrophe endured by the Palestinian people there. Sisi said that he agreed with the European leaders on the categorical rejection of an Israeli military operation in the City of Rafah, in Gaza, which will only exacerbate the already exacerbated humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Once again, he said, Egypt reaffirms its total rejection of any attempts by Israel to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from their lands, which have been under occupation since 1967, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 'I extensively reviewed Egypt's massive efforts to resolve t he crisis,' said the Egyptian president, stressing the need to address the Palestinian issue from a comprehensive and integrated approach that secures the Palestinian rights to establish their independent state, within the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He reiterated that the suffering of the Palestinian people across the occupied Palestinian Territory over the past decades will show no signs of abating without recognizing the State of Palestine. 'The procrastination in resolving this issue exposes the whole world and not only the region to a state of instability,' Sisi said. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA