The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) Deplores and condemns, in the strongest terms, the continuation of the genocide massacres against the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli war machine, and the targeting of camps for displaced people in the “Al-Mawasi” area of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on July 13, which killed more than 90 people, and resulted in the injury of hundreds.
This aggressive behavior reaffirms the barbaric tendency of the Israeli Government and its army and strips them of the lowest values of humanity, including the denial of covenants, especially since the occupation Government has classified this area as “safe” and tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge there, who have been robbed, by Israel of their security and safety as a result of indiscriminate bombing policies and systematic starvation.
In this context, the Council recalls the confirmation of the statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on 20 May 2024, in which he noted that he had requested the Court to obtain arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, based on the “documented evidence” gathered and examined by his team, in cooperation with a team of impartial and independent legal experts, that the Government of Israel committed “intentional killing, or murder as a war crime, directing attacks against the civilian population as a war crime, and extermination, including in the context of starvation death; and persecution as a crime against humanity.”
Contrary to its position on the Ukraine case, it is outrageous that the United States is leading efforts to obstruct the ICC, calling requests for arrests of Israel leaders “outrageous” and threatening sanctions against court staff. Washington is also violating the spirit and content of the January 26 ICJ order and the successive provisional measures issued by the court in connection with it, with which the entire international community, not just Israel, is supposed to comply. This US behavior, and the continued direct military and intelligence support to the occupying power, is a serious violation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution of April 5, which called on all states to “stop the sale and transfer of weapons, ammunition and other military equipment to Israel.”
In this context, the Council stresses that the policy of decisive support for Israel, militarily and politically, by the United States and some of its European allies poses a threat not only to stability and peace in the Middle East, but also a source of tension in a large number of countries. It would also undermine the credibility of international institutions and the compliance with international law and international humanitarian law, demonstrating blatant double standards and contempt for international norms that must be respected by all States.
The Council renews its warning that the Israeli crimes and violations against the Palestinians add serious complications to the chances of reaching calm and a ceasefire, which has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, tens of thousands of injuries, and an unprecedented level of destruction and vandalism, to the extent that the Gaza Strip has become unfit for human life, amid a brutal Israeli blockade that confirms the intention of collective punishment and the practice of genocide of the Palestinian people, as confirmed by documented reports by numerous international bodies, including Western. In this context, the Council calls on the International Criminal Court to expedite the issuance of arrest warrants requested by the Prosecutor, in order to preserve the credibility of the Court and its hoped-for role in deterring Israeli crimes.
