Egyptian Foreign Minister, UN Special Rapporteur discuss Palestinian developments

CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, discussed today the developments of the situation in Palestine. During a meeting in Cairo, they stressed the necessity of stopping the Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip in compliance with the provisions of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. They also stressed the need to ensure the full and safe delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as the necessity of stopping the increasing violence of Israeli colonists, carried out under the protection of the occupation forces, and holding the perpetrators of these violations accountable. The Egyptian minister said the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the intensified Israeli attacks and colonial practices in the West Bank increase the risk of further deterioration of the situation in the entire occupied Palestinian territories . He warned of the consequences of the continued status quo which would further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Shoukry also expressed his regret at the reluctance of several countries, so far, to label the Israeli practices as flagrant violations of international law. The top Egyptian diplomat stressed the need to stop Israeli practices aimed at displacing the Palestinians outside their lands, stop implementing the policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people and the need to put an end to the human suffering inflicted upon them. The meeting also discussed the human rights and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. For her part, the UN rapporteur expressed her regret for the inability to conduct a field visit to the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories due to the Israeli refusal. She also expressed her deep concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people i n light of Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling on Israel, as the occupying power, to comply with its obligations towards the provisions of international law. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA