Within the framework of the cultural season of the Middle East Research and Future Studies Center 2023-2024, the center held a conference today, Thursday, March 7, 2024, entitled (Egyptian Diplomacy and the Gaza War: "Leading the Role and Assuming Responsibility"), under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Mohamed Diaa, President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Dr. Ghada Farouk, Vice President of the University for Community Affairs and Environmental Development, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center, and the conference was moderated by Dr. Hatem Al-Abd, Director of the Center.
The conference was attended by the great journalist/ Helmy Al-Namnam, former Minister of Culture, His Excellency Ambassador/ Youssef Zada, Member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Ahmed Fouad Anwar, Professor of Hebrew Language at Alexandria University. The conference was honored by the presence of an elite group of professors, thinkers and politicians specialized in Palestinian affairs, and witnessed a large turnout of researchers and scholars in Arab and international politics of various nationalities, especially from our Palestinian brothers.
The conference was opened by Dr. Hatem Al-Abd, welcoming the lecturers, prominent thinkers and politicians, and welcoming the attending professors and researchers, and stressing that this conference comes out of the center's keenness to play its national and Arab role, and to take the initiative to analyze the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, as Palestine is in the heart of every Egyptian and Arab, and will always and forever remain the cause of the entire Arab nation, and Egypt, by defending the Palestinian cause, is defending its established principles and lofty Arabism and is playing its pioneering role that extends throughout history in supporting its Arab brothers with all means at its disposal; this is what we have always known from our beloved Egypt.
Then, His Excellency Ambassador Youssef Zada took the floor, condemning the famine, displacement, and deliberate war of extermination that the Palestinian people are being subjected to, the first and last goal of which is to liquidate the Palestinian cause. However, Egypt did not stand idly by, but rather moved on all diplomatic and political levels to stop the war and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian brothers by all available means, despite the intransigence of the Israeli side, and the full support of the United States of America, given the Jewish lobby's control over the circle of decision-makers in American politics. Hence, Egypt resorted to holding several bilateral talks, whether at the international or Arab level, and finally resorted to the International Court of Justice to convey the voice of Palestine to the world, and to present what the defenseless Palestinian people are being subjected to in terms of a devastating and unequal war, and that they have legitimate rights and demands that they will not be silent about no matter what happens. His Excellency Ambassador Zada also stressed the importance of adhering to the peace agreement signed between Egypt and Israel and diplomatic representation between the two sides so that Egypt can play its political role and mediate between the parties to the conflict. Despite all these diplomatic efforts, the situation continues to deteriorate in the occupied Palestinian territories in light of the intransigence of the Zionist side, the unlimited support of the United States, and the disregard of the international community. The great writer and former minister Helmy El-Namnam then took the floor, where he pointed out that the Egyptian state has a long and rich experience in the Palestinian issue that extends back several decades, starting with the Balfour Declaration, passing through the partition issue and the participation of the Egyptian delegation headed by Mohamed Hassanein Heikal Pasha, then the Jewish settlers began to establish a fully-fledged state for themselves within the State of Palestine, until the October War in 1973 proved that there is no state called Israel, but rather it is in fact a military base affiliated with the United States of America. The great writer El-Namnam confirmed that what some are trying to do today by shedding light on Arab shortcomings and pointing fingers at this and that is only aimed at distracting attention from the essence of the Palestinian issue, and preoccupying it with attempts to defend and evade responsibility for what the Palestinian people are currently suffering. Therefore, attention must be paid and we must realize that the goal behind the current events is to eradicate the Palestinian people, whether by killing or displacement, to uproot the Palestinian cause from its roots. Hence, the keenness of the Egyptian leadership represented by President Sisi to adopt the principle of absolute transparency, share the opinion of the people, inform them of the course of events, and emphasize that there is no peace or security in the region for Israel without the existence of a safe, independent and sovereign Palestinian state. Therefore, the first goal now of all the efforts made must be to stop the bloodshed and cease fire, and unite the Arab and Palestinian ranks behind their legitimate rights, and then we begin to hold the negligent accountable and calculate the gains and losses on all levels. This was followed by a speech by Dr. Ahmed Fouad Anwar, who presented a quick overview of the Israeli interior and his view of the war on Gaza, and he showed that Israeli society suffers from division within itself and is very complex, and there are deep differences between the enlightened and the secular, and the religious, whether moderates or extremists, whose opinions on the war on Gaza vary between supporters and opponents. His Excellency also stressed that the Israeli state was established primarily on Zionist racism in all its forms, and intense hatred of Arabs. Dr. Anwar added that the Israeli plans were primarily based on Egypt's submission to Israeli pressure and the systematic massacres it is committing against the defenseless Palestinian people to open the crossings and open Egyptian lands to Palestinian immigration, and empty the Strip of its original inhabitants. These are old plans, and what is happening now is nothing but a reformulation of them. However, all of its plans have failed before the Egyptian awareness, people and government. Although Egypt always opens its arms wide to Arab brothers of various nationalities, it rejects the principle of forced displacement of the Palestinian people, as this will lead to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause. The Egyptian side stressed that the legitimate alternative solution is for the Palestinian brothers to head to the Negev Desert, which is their original land.
