France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on a visit to Cairo on Monday that he was strongly opposed to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“This would be a violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of the entire region, including Israel,” he said as he met his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Macron started talks dominated by the Gaza war on Sunday with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi after arriving in Cairo.
On Monday, Macron, El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II will hold a summit as Israel renews its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
On Tuesday, the French leader will head to the Egyptian port of El-Arish, near Gaza, to highlight the territory’s humanitarian plight.
Macron and El-Sisi held a dinner in a Cairo souk just after the French president arrived for the 48-hour visit.
Macron also took time for a private visit to the new Grand Egyptian Museum, to be officially inaugurated on July 3, that will show off 100,000 historic artefacts.
The two presidents will hold a more formal meeting on Monday morning before the summit with King Abdullah.
“The situation in Gaza will be widely discussed,” the French presidency said of the meetings stressing the importance of Egypt and Jordan in ending the war.
Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been a mediator between Israel and Hamas. The United States has meanwhile called on Jordan and Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza.
Israel has pushed to seize Gazan territory since the March 18 collapse of a short-lived truce with Hamas, in what it has called a strategy to force the militants to free hostages still held in Gaza.
Simultaneously, Israel has escalated attacks on Lebanon and Syria.
The port of El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, has been a key transit point for international aid arriving for Gaza.
Macron is to meet humanitarian and security workers there to demonstrate his “constant mobilization in favor of a ceasefire,” his office said.
Most international aid went through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt but this has been suspended by Israel since early March.
Source: Arab News
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
