Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Monday said the ongoing Israeli war against the Palestinian people had become a “war of starvation” aimed at “liquidating the Palestinian cause.”
Speaking on behalf of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus summit in Tianjin, China, Madbouly said the Palestinian people are facing “all forms of killing, terror, starvation, and a flagrant violation of their rights.”
“This war is no longer a war to achieve political goals or release hostages, but a war of starvation and to liquidate the Palestinian cause,” he said, noting that civilian casualties had reached nearly 60,000 killed and about 119,000 injured.
Madbouly stated that Egypt condemns in the strongest terms Israel’s expansion of its military operations in the Gaza Strip and its attempts to “make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable in an attempt to displace the Palestinian people from their land.” He also condemned Israeli practices in the West Bank, particularly settler violence and settlement activities, which he said aim to eliminate the two-state solution.
He stressed the necessity for Israel to accept the current proposal for a temporary ceasefire, during which negotiations can take place to end the war and rebuild Gaza, in addition to advancing a political process that guarantees the implementation of the two-state solution.
The prime minister’s remarks came during a broader address on global challenges, in which he said the summit was being held at a “delicate international juncture that threatens the credibility of the multilateral international system.”
He affirmed Egypt’s support for efforts to reform the global system to be more just, including radical reform of the global financial architecture and international financing institutions to provide concessional financing for developing countries.
Madbouly also addressed Egypt’s water security, describing the country as a densely populated nation living in an arid desert environment and relying almost entirely on the Nile River for its renewable water resources.
He said cooperation with fellow Nile Basin countries is the cornerstone of Egypt’s approach to managing their shared water resource for the benefit of all, in accordance with international law.
The prime minister also touched on the role of advanced technologies, especially artificial intelligence, as a key catalyst for achieving sustainable development, stressing the importance of cooperation to ensure their ethical and responsible use.