Egypt's president meets Spanish prime minister in Madrid, calls for full implementation of Gaza ceasefire deal
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Wednesday for rebuilding the Gaza Strip without displacing its Palestinian population and the immediate start of relief operations in the ruined enclave after Israel's genocidal war.
Speaking at a press conference in Madrid with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Sisi underlined the importance of the full implementation of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
"The international community must support the plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing the Palestinian people from their land to which they cling, and their homeland which they will not accept to abandon, in a way that ensures the immediate start of relief operations and early recovery,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has announced a proposal to take over Gaza and resettle its Palestinian inhabitants to develop it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East,” an idea vehemently rejected by the Palestinians, Arab countries, and many Western nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Egypt said it has prepared a “comprehensive” plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its Palestinian inhabitants. Cairo is scheduled to host an emergency Arab summit on March 4 to discuss the plan that counters Trump's proposal.
Sanchez, for his part, reaffirmed Spain's opposition to the forced displacement of Palestinians, calling the idea a violation of international law.
He also reiterated the need for political solutions to advance a two-state solution to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Trump's displacement plan came amid the ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel's genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
