Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Mikhail Zakharov
[REGNUM] On October 21, a summit on the Palestinian-Israeli issue was held in Cairo. The event, initiated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi , was dedicated to discussing ways to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and reduce tension in the Gaza Strip.
Representatives of 34 countries and three international organizations - the UN, the League of Arab States and the African Union - arrived in the Egyptian capital. Russia was represented at the summit by Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Presidential Representative for the Middle East and African Countries Mikhail Bogdanov.
Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict zone. “It is necessary to apply international humanitarian law and protect the civilian population of the Gaza Strip,” the UN Secretary General said, emphasizing that “every effort must be made to stop the bloodshed and achieve a two-state solution.”
The Egyptian side insisted on reviving the peace process in the Middle East. “I called on you to work together to reach consensus on a roadmap to end the current humanitarian tragedy and revive the peace process,” said President al-Sisi.
King Abdullah II of Jordan also noted the importance of immediately ending the war in the Gaza Strip and delivering humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian enclave. “An immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip is necessary... continuous delivery of aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip is necessary,” the Jordanian monarch said.
The leader of the Palestinian people, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke out against the forced displacement of the Arab people from the Gaza Strip. “We warn against attempts to move our people from Gaza beyond its borders. We will not leave, we will remain on our land ,” he said. “There is no other place for the Palestinians other than their land,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani supported him.
During the summit, senior officials also spoke about the need to free the hostages and condemned the indiscriminate use of force through bombing , which is a violation of international law.
In a conversation with Regnum news agency , Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats, HSE professor Andrei Baklanov noted that the summit could help resolve several issues that are significant for the Arab states and Palestinians.
Firstly, for the organizers of the event, the Egyptians (and not only for them), it is important to block the idea of expelling Palestinians from the territory where they lived to the territory of neighboring Arab countries. The Palestinian problem “cannot be eliminated without a fair solution, and this will not happen at the expense of Egypt , ” al-Sisi explained during the opening of the summit. Amman also rejects the idea of moving Palestinians: “No refugees in Jordan,” Abdullah II previously noted.
The second important issue for the assembled politicians is preventing the possible expansion of confrontation to other territories of the Middle East, in particular to the West Bank and Lebanon, Baklanov notes.
Finally, the expert says, politicians can agree on restoring the system of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, which has been experiencing funding problems for several years now. “The question will be about restoring in full the activities of UNRWA (the UN agency involved in helping Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. - Ed. ) to finance support programs, food and other, for Palestinians, primarily Palestinian refugees,” explains IA Regnum’s interlocutor.
... AND MODEST RESULTS
In fact, based on the results of the summit, it can be said that its Arab participants limited themselves to statements, demonstrative condemnations and general agreement on the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. They failed to reach consensus, take a stronger position and collectively resort to serious action to achieve the goals of the event.
In addition, there are also significant differences between the Arab countries and Western representatives who took part in the summit, in particular on the issues of a ceasefire and condemnation of the actions of Israel and Hamas. Some European leaders had previously refused to participate in the summit due to disagreements over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Israel itself, by the way, did not take part in the event. “Israeli politicians have made it clear that Israel will not participate in a regional summit on the ongoing war, which is due to take place on Saturday in Cairo,” local newspaper Haaretz previously wrote.
Andrei Baklanov notes that the presence of the UN and the organization’s secretary general there played an important role in Tel Aviv’s refusal to participate in the summit. “The Israelis have always been very skeptical about this structure,” the expert explained.
The absence of Iranian representatives at the summit , as well as high-ranking US officials , also does not work in favor of the event organized by Egypt. “The United States and Iran are the two main external actors that may in the future be involved in this conflict. This is another factor that this summit is unlikely to bring any fundamental change in the situation,” says Boris Dolgov, senior researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with IA Regnum.
According to Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt, whose words are quoted by Politico , the diplomats who came to Cairo would not have been able to achieve a major breakthrough. “They are not players,” said Jumblatt. - They have no influence. Three players - Israel, Iran and America."
Earlier, Reuters, citing diplomatic sources, reported that the parties were unlikely to be able to make a full-fledged joint statement. Such pessimism was justified: in the evening , Sky News Arabia reported that participants in the Cairo summit on Palestine did not accept the final statement due to the above-mentioned disagreements.
This suggests that the event is unlikely to have a chance to seriously influence the further course of events in the Middle East. “The specific further dynamics of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict now depend to a large extent on what decision the Israeli leadership makes,” notes Dolgov.
PREPARING FOR THE WORST
At this time, judging by the events taking place against the backdrop of the meeting, the conflict is not subsiding, and the warring parties continue to prepare for the worst outcome of events.
On Saturday evening, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichai Adri announced that Israel was implementing a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip. He explained that currently “nothing comes to the Palestinian enclave from Israeli territory,” including water, electricity and medicine. As Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi reported, the Israeli leadership does not currently see an agenda for negotiations on Palestine.
The surprise attack by Hamas was devastating for Tel Aviv's reputation. “This is our September 11th,” admitted Major Nir Dinar, IDF spokesman. “They took us by surprise.”
“In order to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of Israeli public opinion, the Israeli leadership, it seems to me, will go for a military ground operation, despite attempts to find some other methods of resolving the conflict,” says Boris Dolgov.
In turn, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement continues to strike IDF military targets in northern Israel, and the Palestinian Hamas movement shells Israeli cities. In the Gaza Strip itself, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.
Israel's neighbors prioritize their own problems. In particular, both the Egyptian President and the King of Jordan are concerned about the security of their countries due to the possible displacement of the population of Gaza, which they opposed at the summit.
Yes, the Egyptian authorities, of course, very, very condemn Israel for attacks on civilians, but they are not willing to open corridors for the movement of refugees from the Gaza Strip . So do the Jordanian authorities . Arab countries are not going to intervene more actively on the side of the Palestinians. Protests and remarks on social networks hardly bother Tel Aviv.
On the eve of the summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that “if it is not possible to ensure lasting peace, then the alternative will be very bad - large-scale war and instability in the region . ” And the past “peace summit” failed to cope with the task of containing the situation.
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