During a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Abdel-Ati said, "We reject any attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause through displacement schemes," adding, "We will continue our tireless mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and ensure the flow of aid to Gaza," according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement noted that the two sides discussed future steps to implement the early recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza following a ceasefire, including the early recovery and reconstruction conference that Egypt intends to host in coordination with the Palestinian government and the United Nations.
On March 4, an emergency Arab summit on Palestine adopted a plan submitted by Egypt to rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians. The plan is expected to take five years to implement and cost approximately $53 billion.
However, Israel and the United States rejected the plan, clinging to a scheme promoted by US President Donald Trump since January 25 to displace Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan. Both countries rejected the plan, and other Arab countries and regional and international organizations joined them.
The meeting addressed developments in the occupied West Bank, in light of escalating military incursions and daily Israeli violations in Palestinian cities and camps. Egyptian Minister Abdel Aati condemned the accelerated Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,009 Palestinians and the injury of approximately 7,000 others, according to Palestinian data.
This coincides with a genocidal war waged by Israel in Gaza, which has left more than 205,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and a famine that has claimed the lives of many.
Abdel-Ati addressed the repercussions of Israel's decisions to close schools and hospitals affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem, affirming "Egypt's full support for the vital and irreplaceable role of the UN agency," according to the same source.
Last May, Israeli police raided six UNRWA schools in occupied East Jerusalem and forcibly evacuated them, implementing an April order to close them. The move sparked Palestinian anger, calling it a "direct violation of educational rights and the symbolism of the Palestinian presence in the occupied city."
On October 28, 2024, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) approved two laws prohibiting UNRWA from carrying out activities within the occupied Palestinian territories, revoking privileges and facilities provided to it, and prohibiting any contact with it. These laws entered into force on January 30, 2025.
Israel claims that UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, a claim the agency denies. The United Nations affirmed UNRWA's commitment to neutrality, its commitment to continuing its work, and its rejection of the Israeli ban.
UNRWA provides aid, health, and education services to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as well as Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.
During the meeting, Abdel-Ati expressed Cairo's hope that the momentum accompanying the conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution, held in New York, would contribute to "accelerating international recognition of the Palestinian state," praising French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of his intention to recognize Palestine.
On Thursday, Macron announced that his country would recognize the State of Palestine during the United Nations General Assembly in New York next September.
Macron said via the X platform: "In fulfillment of its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine."
Abdel-Ati stressed Egypt's "full support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state on the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital."
For decades, Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from these territories and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the pre-1967 borders.
