CAIRO, Egypt
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on Saturday that she opposed the "forced displacement of Palestinians" during a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Von der Leyen expressed
gratitude to Egypt for its crucial role in providing and facilitating
humanitarian aid to vulnerable Palestinians in a message posted on X, formerly
Twitter.
The two leaders discussed
"the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza" and explored a
"political horizon based on a two-state solution," with Israel
conducting a military campaign in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 Hamas
attacks.
According to the Hamas
government, at least 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, have been killed
in Gaza since Israel initiated its assault on the Palestinian territory last
month. The conflict was triggered by the Hamas attacks, during which fighters
breached the heavily militarized border with Israel, resulting in approximately
1,200 casualties, mostly civilians, and the taking of around 240 hostages, as
reported by Israeli officials.
Von der Leyen later arrived in
North Sinai for the arrival of a European Union humanitarian convoy, according
to a statement from the governor of the Egyptian border region. The statement
mentioned that she is expected to inspect the Rafah border crossing, assess the
aid situation, and visit wounded Palestinians in North Sinai.
International aid has been
arriving at the international airport in El-Arish, approximately 40 kilometres
(25 miles) from the Rafah crossing with Gaza. The Rafah crossing, the only
entry point for aid not controlled by Israel, has been crucial for the trickle
of assistance into war-ravaged Gaza.
During von der Leyen's
previous visit to Egypt in 2022, Israel and Egypt signed a deal to supply
Europe with natural gas. A senior EU official highlighted Egypt's strategic
location and significant population, seeing opportunities for cooperation in
energy and hydrogen in the future.
Cairo has invested billions in
recent years to develop its natural gas industry, aiming to become a major
exporter. In August, researcher Sebastien Douget suggested to AFP that
"Egypt has the means to become the main hydrogen exporter to Europe in 2050
thanks to existing natural gas pipelines" repurposed for hydrogen.
The European official also
informed AFP that the issue of migration would be on the agenda during von der
Leyen's visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment