Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah met in Cairo this weekend to condemn Israel and its operations in the wake of the October 7 massacre of 1,400 people in Israel by Hamas.
The meeting in Cairo comes two weeks after the attack. What is clear from the meeting is that despite Israel’s work toward regional integration via peace deals such as the Abraham Accords and initiatives such as the Negev Summit, today Israel is not being invited to discuss peace.
According to Arab News, “Arab leaders condemned Israel’s two-week-old bombardment of Gaza on Saturday and demanded renewed efforts to reach a Middle East peace settlement to end a decades-long cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. However, the absence of Israel and senior US officials at the meeting undermined any prospect for halting an escalating war.”
Al-Ain media in the Gulf covered the meeting in detail. It covered speeches by the King of Jordan, Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas and the President of Egypt. In the coverage there did not appear to be much mention that Hamas massacred civilians on October 7 and kidnapped 200 people, many of them children and civilians.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attended the meeting and said the Kingdom rejects any “forced displacement” of Palestinians. It comes as the first aid convoy entered Gaza via the Egyptian Rafah crossing. “We categorically reject violations of international humanitarian law by any party amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” Prince Faisal said.
Jordan claimed that the world does not view Palestinian lives as important as Israeli lives. He also said he was outraged by violence in Gaza. “The Israeli leadership must realize once and for all that a state can never thrive if it is built on a foundation of injustice ... Our message to the Israelis should be that we want a future of peace and security for you and the Palestinians,” the Jordanian king said.
Abraham Accord country criticises Israel
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed also posted on social media and said the UAE “stands unwavering in its calls for the utmost protection of civilian lives, unimpeded access for humanitarian aid, and an immediate end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip.” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also told the meeting in Cairo that a humanitarian corridor was necessary for Gaza.
The meeting in Cairo showcases the absence of the US and Israel at these meetings. This is despite the sense in the last few years that Israel was integrating more in the region and that the US was supportive of this integration. Now, after the Hamas massacre, it is evidence how any conflict in Gaza or the West Bank can result in Israel being isolated.
When US President Joe Biden came to Israel his meetings with the Jordanians, Egyptians and the Palestinian Authority were cancelled after Hamas falsely claimed a hospital in Gaza was attacked. The article at Arab News noted that “the absence of a top official from Israel’s main ally the United States and some other major Western leaders has cooled expectations for what the event can achieve.
The US, which has no ambassador currently assigned to Egypt, is represented by its embassy Charge d’Affaires. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron did not attend.”