Emmanuel Macron and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, jointly declared their opposition to an Israeli offensive in Rafah in a statement issued by the French presidency on Sunday, February 18.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed “their firm opposition” to an Israeli offensive in Rafah and to “any forced displacement of populations towards Egypt, which would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law,” according to a statement issued on Sunday by the Elysée Palace.
The two leaders, who spoke by telephone on Saturday, “expressed their firm opposition to an Israeli offensive in Rafah, which would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe on a new scale, as well as to any forced displacement of populations towards Egyptian territory, which would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and pose a further risk of regional escalation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is determined to carry out a ground offensive in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are crowded, despite calls from part of the international community.
Macron and Sisi shared “their extreme concern at the deterioration of the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the obstacles to the delivery of aid.”
They stressed “the urgent need to drastically increase aid inflows to the people of Gaza.” “It is imperative to preserve the Rafah crossing, to open the port of Ashdod, a direct land route from Jordan and all other crossing points,” they pleaded.
The two heads of state also stressed “the urgency of achieving a ceasefire and the release of the hostages,” calling on the UN Security Council to “play its part in this regard.”
They also stressed “the need to work towards a way out of the crisis and the decisive and irreversible relaunch of the political process, with a view to the effective implementation of the two-state solution.”
With AFP
