(16 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cairo – 16 January 2025
1. Exterior of Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian Foreign Minister:
"This is a great achievement, thanks to the extreme efforts exerted by Egypt alongside with Qatar and the United States that’s of extreme importance. We have to work hand in hand in order to start the implementation of this agreement without any delay. That’s of great importance in order to secure the release of all hostages."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian Foreign Minister:
"We are waiting for the final approval and then to start implementing on the ground, hopefully starting from next Sunday."
++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Egypt’s chief diplomat on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay,” raising pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered the message at a sensitive time in efforts to end a devastating 15-month conflict.
A day after U.S. President Joe Biden and other international mediators announced the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu insisted there still was no deal.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Abdelatty declined to comment on Netanyahu’s claims that Hamas has “reneged” on certain pledges in the agreement.
But he said a deal had been reached thanks to “deep involvement” by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, including officials from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“We have a deal. What’s very important is to start implementation,” Abdelatty said from the foreign ministry’s headquarters in The New Administrative Capital, a newly built sprawling city about 28 miles (45 kilometers) east of Cairo that houses government offices.
“What we are doing now is to push for final approval and implementation, without any delay.”
Egypt, which has a peace agreement with Israel and shares a border with Hamas-ruled Gaza, has been a key mediator between the enemies for years and a leading player in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
Cairo is supposed to be the location for continued talks between the U.S., Qatar and Egypt on implementing the deal.
Abdelatty said the talks were set to begin soon, and that the mediators would have an “operation room” overseeing the deal in the Egyptian capital.
“We are fully committed to fulfill our own commitments and we are expecting that others to fulfill their own commitments,” he said.
Hamas has suffered heavy losses during the war, but the group appears to remain intact.
Its fighters have continued to stage deadly attacks against Israeli troops and its government continues to provide some basic services.
Abdelatty declined to discuss Hamas’ capabilities, but signaled it will not play a role in governing Gaza after the war.
He said the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which governs from the occupied West Bank after being ousted by Hamas in 2007, is the proper Palestinian entity to lead postwar Gaza.
“We have to empower the Palestinian Authority,” he said, adding that Egypt is ready to work with the U.S. “to empower the Palestinians and the Palestinian police in order to provide security in Gaza.”
He said the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that includes the West Bank and Gaza.
The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, has been closed since the Israeli army took over the area last May.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/fd74b41c4f8e40f486a02638bfe107dc
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in January 22, 2025, 12:05 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
