On December 7, 2023, the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs held its 2023 Annual Conference under the slogan “The Palestinian Cause between Settlement Efforts and Liquidation Attempts,” with the participation of a number of diplomats, university professors, experts, and specialists. The Conference was opened by a representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador Mohamed El-Oraby, ECFA Chairman.
The recent events that took place in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the construction and expansion of settlements, the operations of apartheid and racial discrimination, the alteration of the demographic structure in favor of the Israelis, policies of judaization of the West Bank and Jerusalem, the demolition of homes, the expropriation of property…etc., were perpetrated – and are still being perpetrated – by the Israeli Occupation authorities, in a blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, including the practices of genocide, collective punishment, and the killing of innocent children and women. This necessitates tackling these developments, as well as the Palestinian Cause and its future in their broader context, especially in the wake of Operation Al-Aqsa Toofan last October 7, and the brutal Israeli retaliation.
The Conference addressed four axes: The first is “developments of the Palestinian Cause,” including the causes and repercussions of Operation Al-Aqsa Toofan, the Israeli approach to managing the conflict, Israel’s crimes and the international justice architecture, and post-war scenarios in Gaza. The second axis dealt with the policies of the major powers and their positions regarding what is happening in the Occupied Territories (the United States and its Western allies, the Russian Federation, China and India), in addition to the multilateral approach to the conflict, whether in regional frameworks or within the framework of the United Nations system. The third axis focused on the positions of regional powers, specifically Iran, Türkiye, and the Arab Gulf states, while the fourth and final axis covered “The Egyptian Role: Opportunities and Challenges,” and reviewed the issue of forced displacement of the Palestinian people, the Egyptian position on it, the Egyptian support for the Palestinian cause, and Cairo’s vision for scenarios of the post-Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.
The Conference concluded that the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for Operation Al-Aqsa Toofan, was not in fact targeting only the Hamas movement, claiming that it is a terrorist organization, which entails the right to self-defense, as Israel claims, but it also aimed to bring about a geographic and demographic change in the Gaza Strip in favor of Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people, which is an extension of the same Israeli practices over the past decades in the West Bank. The Conference affirmed that the Occupying Power does not have the right to legitimate defense in accordance with international law against the legitimate national resistance, especially since Israel is already practicing the measures referred to, whether in the West Bank or in the Gaza Strip, as they are carried out under an official strategic vision, through the Israeli army, forces, security services, and extremist settlers and their terrorist organizations.
The Conference stressed that Operation Al-Aqsa Toofan was not only a response to the Israeli and extremist Israeli settlers’ violations of the holy sites under state terrorism, but also due to the practices and procedures witnessed in the West Bank – which took place and are still ongoing – aimed at bringing about the aforementioned geographical and demographic changes in favor of Israel. The Conference asserted that it is an illusion for Israel to imagine that it can integrate into the region and enjoy peace and stability with such practices that would liquidate the Palestinian Cause and cause the Palestinian people to lose its legitimate rights stipulated in international legitimacy resolutions.
In this context, the Conference affirmed that the ongoing crisis taking place in the Gaza Strip was revealing of several matters, most notably that the Palestinian Cause cannot be ignored, and that it is a priority for the Arab and Islamic states and their peoples. It also revealed the ugly face of many Western governments, as some of them appeared to be complicit and allied with Israel, supporting it militarily, politically, materially and in the media, and are also partners within the framework of the Israeli strategic vision regarding the future of the Palestinian Cause.
While the Conference appreciated the positions of countries supporting legitimate Palestinian rights, which were embodied in the regional and international conferences that were held, most notably the Cairo Regional and International Peace Summit, and the Riyadh Arab and Islamic Summit, as well as the positions of these states in the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council’s resolution in mid-November 2023 to hold humanitarian truces, noting in this regard the position of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres. In contrast to this position, a group of Western countries have adopted a position that pushes for the continuation of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, ignoring its repercussions on the security of the region in general, and on Egypt’s national security in particular. Egypt has warned – and continues to warn – of the consequences of this aggression and its practices.
The Conference also emphasized the importance of continuing the active and effective action of the Ministerial Mechanism emanating from the Arab-Islamic Summit, with the aim of formulating an international position for a ceasefire, and calling for an international peace conference to settle the Palestinian Cause in a comprehensive manner, based on international legitimacy and the Two-state solution initiative.
The participants commended Egypt’s primary and decisive position rejecting any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians, which would liquidate the Palestinian cause, whether by altering the demographic composition or reducing the area of the Palestinian state according to the Two-state solution.
The participants also saluted the tremendous efforts made by the Egyptian government and civil society organizations to alleviate the humanitarian disaster endured by the Palestinian people in Gaza. Moreover, the Conference called on Arab states and other states to double their humanitarian support for the victims of the Israeli aggression, especially as Israel is moving forward with its aggression crimes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, making the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in modern history.
