Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that what is happening in the Gaza Strip has become a “systematic war of genocide,” adding that it is “beyond any logic or justification.”
During a press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart at al-Ittihadiya Palace on Tuesday, the Egyptian president stated, “The war in Gaza is no longer a war to achieve political goals or release hostages. This war has long since surpassed any logic or justification and has become a war of starvation and genocide, as well as the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.”
“The lives of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are being used as a political bargaining chip, while the international community stands by and watches as what is happening in Gaza Strip as a spectator.”
Sisi rejected criticism of Egypt’s entry of aid into Gaza and the recent protests surrounding several of his country’s embassies around the world.
“It’s being said that the crossing and aid are not entering because Egypt is preventing this. It’s very strange. The (Rafah) crossing has never been closed and was destroyed four times during the war, and each time we restore it,” he said.
He pointed out that part of the crossing is located on Egyptian territory, while the other part is on the Palestinian side, adding that The crossing could have allowed aid to enter (had it not been destroyed),” and that what prevents this is the presence of “Israeli forces stationed on the other side.”
Sisi also pointed out that there are five border crossings with Gaza Strip, four of which are with Israel, and the fifth is the Rafah crossing, which he said have, “Never been closed, not during the war, and not before. Over the past 20 years, Egypt’s role has been to try to prevent the situation in the Gaza Strip from escalating, and our role is to calm any potential fighting between Gaza Strip and Israel.”
“This is the fifth war (between Israel and Gaza) in which Egypt played a positive and effective role in stopping the war. Our role is not over,” he assured.
“There are now more than 5,000 trucks on Egyptian soil loaded with aid, both from Egypt and other countries,” Sisi said, noting that “more than 70 percent of the aid (to Gaza) was provided by Egypt. The issue now is to bring in as much aid as possible, because there is a systematic genocide in the Strip to liquidate the issue, and I reiterate my call to President Trump to stop this war.”
