Egypt expressed firm rejection of the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, noting that “he tried to use Egypt’s name to distract Israeli public opinion, obstruct reaching a ceasefire deal and exchanging hostages and detainees, and obstruct the mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, Qatar, and the US.”
In a statement on Tuesday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Egypt affirms its rejection of all allegations made by Israeli officials in this regard.”
According to the statement, “Egypt holds the Israeli government responsible for the consequences of issuing such statements that further aggravate the situation and aim to justify aggressive and provocative policies that lead to further escalation in the region, and affirms its keenness to continue to play its historic role in leading the peace process in the region in a way that maintains regional peace and security and achieves stability for all peoples of the region.”
Netanyahu said on Monday that his forces must maintain control of the Philadelphi corridor between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and pledged “not to succumb to pressure” on this issue in the ceasefire talks. In a press conference, he considered that “achieving the war’s goals goes through the Philadelphi Corridor.” He added: “Controlling the corridor ensures that the kidnapped are not smuggled out of Gaza.”
In the meantime, Algeria, in coordination with the Palestinian mission to the United Nations, called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in light of the escalation of the occupation forces’ operations and the continued genocide to which the Palestinian people are being subjected.
A statement by the Algerian Foreign Ministry said that the meeting, expected to be scheduled by the Slovenian presidency of the UNSC before the end of the week, comes “in light of the continuation of the fierce security campaign against the West Bank with the occupation forces persisting in their crimes against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
On Tuesday, four Palestinians, including two children, were killed and others were injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets in Tulkarm and its camp, and the town of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank, at a time when the occupation forces continue their siege of hospitals in Tulkarm, impose a tight siege on its camp, and work to destroy infrastructure and homes.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 30 people were killed and about 130 injured in the West Bank since last Wednesday, bringing the death toll in the West Bank governorates since 7 October 2023 to 682, and about 5,700 injured.
The Israeli campaign on the West Bank coincides with an escalation in settler attacks, targeting in particular the Palestinian Jordan Valley in an attempt to implement old Israeli plans to empty the vast agricultural and pastoral area of Palestinian presence.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed the killing of 33 Palestinians and the injury of 67 others in three massacres committed by the occupation forces during the past 24 hours. Thus, the toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,819 dead and 94,291 injured.
