Statement of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA)On the Israeli Knesset’s Decision to Oppose the Establishment of the State of Palestine

The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs condemns the Israeli Knesset resolution, on July 18, 2024, which strongly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River, even if it is part of a negotiated settlement with Israel. It also denounces the Knesset’s flimsy argument that “the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel land would pose an existential threat to the state of Israel and its citizens, and would perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region.” The Council affirms that this resolution openly reveals Israel’s malign and historically underlying intentions to deprive the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination and the declaration of their independent and sovereign State, as well as Tel Aviv’s abject desire to settle and extend its control over all Palestinian territories, in accordance with the false claim that it is “land of Israel”. This decision came one day before the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on 19 July which concluded, among other things, that the occupation has become a “de facto annexation”, involving “systematic discrimination” and (apartheid).

While the Council is not surprised by the adoption of such a resolution by the Parliament of an extremist occupying Power, which has devoted all its systematic policies to perpetuating the occupation for many decades, leading to the annexation process by a null and void resolution, the Council affirms that the Israel’s continuous attempt to deny the inalienable right of the Palestinians to their independent State will not bring security and peace in the region, contrary to what extremist Zionist legislators imagine. It also stresses that Israel’s attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause, as it is only part of Israel’s regional conflict with Iran, will ultimately fail, especially since the Palestinian cause and the duty to defend it represent the essence of the Palestinian identity and the ultimate goal of its people.  Moreover, the current Zionist government will not be able to touch the fact that there is a broad global consensus on the illegality of the Israeli occupation.

On the other hand, the Council calls on the international community to exert all possible efforts to hold Israel accountable for its unilateral actions, which represent a flagrant violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy and a gross disregard for its efforts to revive the Middle East peace process and the two-State solution. In this context, the Council stresses that all decisions and steps adopted by the Israel are null and void and must be revoked, do not change the reality of its occupation of the Palestinian territories and do not affect the continued applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War of 1949 to the Palestinian and other Arabic territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem. The Council also renews its unwavering commitment to lasting and sustainable peace in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolutions 2735, 2728, 2720 and 2712, on the basis of the two-state solution.