Rafah Crossing Not Passage For Displacing Palestinians: Egyptian FM

(MENAFN- IANS) Cairo, Sep 6 (IANS) Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday reaffirmed that the Rafah crossing, the only channel linking Egypt with the Gaza Strip, will not be a passage for displacing the Palestinians from their land.

In a joint press conference with Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Abdelatty said that "the Rafah crossing is only for the delivery of aid, not displacement".

"It's absurd to say that the Palestinian people want to leave their land, but rather they are driven by a policy of starvation," he added.

Lazzarini agreed that the starvation in Gaza is man-made, adding that "it is difficult to supply Gaza residents with aid from the Rafah crossing due to the Israeli impeding practices".

The UN official added that Egypt has been exerting efforts to stop the deterioration of conditions in the strip, lamenting that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees lacks the necessary tools to meet humanitarian needs to Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

Regarding the ceasefire deal in Gaza, Abdelatty said that stopping the war in Gaza is the only way to secure the release of hostages.

The Egyptian Minister also said he spoke with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday and discussed intensifying efforts to implement the latest ceasefire proposal.

He blamed Israel for what he described as its intransigence over the delay in reaching a ceasefire.

The statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a recent interview that "half of the population wants to leave Gaza", while insisting that "this is not a mass expulsion".

Netanyahu's remarks have drawn regional condemnation.

Jordanian government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani on Saturday said that Jordan will never accept the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Writing on social media platform X, Momani stressed that international law prohibits the forcible transfer of populations from "occupied territories", describing it as both a "war crime" and a "crime" against humanity.

Hamas agreed in August to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel that included the return of half the hostages held in Gaza and Israel's release of some Palestinian prisoners.

An Egyptian official source said the proposal accepted by Hamas included a suspension of Israeli military operations for 60 days and outlined a framework for a comprehensive deal to end the nearly two-year-old conflict.

Netanyahu said days later that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and an end to the war, but on terms acceptable to Israel.

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