At the Peace Summit they tried to find common ground between Israel and Hamas

Participants in the international peace summit in Cairo, dedicated to resolving the military conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, were unable to adopt a joint final declaration. Arab countries called for an immediate ceasefire, Western countries called for a solution to the humanitarian problems of the residents of the Gaza Strip

The peace summit in Cairo on October 21 did not bring results: its participants were unable to adopt a consolidated declaration. Instead, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued his own statement calling on the parties to the conflict to begin a settlement process that would lead in the “foreseeable future” to the creation of an independent state of Palestine within the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem. “The conflict has exposed the inability of the international community to find a just and lasting solution, and world leaders have long sought to resolve the conflict rather than end it forever,” the document says.

In turn, Tel Aviv, whose representatives were not invited to Cairo, expressed regret that the conference participants did not condemn “Islamic terror.” “Unfortunately, even in the face of these horrific atrocities [со стороны «Хамас»] There are people who find it difficult to condemn terrorism or recognize the danger. Israel will do what it must and expects the international community to recognize the righteousness of the battle it is waging,” the press service of the Israeli Foreign Ministry reports.

The summit was attended by representatives of 30 states, primarily from the Middle East, as well as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of the European Council Charles Michel. Russia was represented at the meeting by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and the United States was represented by US Chargé d’Affaires in Egypt Beth Jones. At the same time, representatives of Lebanon and Syria, neighboring Israel, as well as Iran, an ally of Hamas, were not present at the summit. According to orientalist Ruslan Suleymanov, the Egyptian authorities did not invite representatives of the Iranian and Syrian authorities to the forum so as not to irritate Western states, primarily the United States and Israel.

Egyptian President al-Sisi called on meeting participants to develop a roadmap that would end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip and restore peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In addition, he categorically rejected the prospect of “forcibly transferring Palestinians” from Gaza to Egyptian territory. “The elimination of the Palestinian issue without a just solution is beyond acceptable, in any case it will never happen at the expense of Egypt,” he added.

With the new escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, more than 1 million Palestinians (out of 2.3 million) left the northern part of Gaza, where the Israeli military is planning to carry out a ground military operation, and moved to the south of the enclave along the border with Egypt.

King Abdullah II of Jordan made a similar statement, noting that Amman had previously received the largest number of Palestinian refugees from previous wars in the Middle East: “Forced displacement of persons is a war crime and a red line for all of us.” According to various estimates, of the 11 million Jordanians, about 55–60% of the kingdom’s inhabitants are Palestinian refugees and their descendants. And Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to “stop its barbaric aggression” in the Gaza Strip.

Representatives of Western countries at the conference spoke about the threat of “Palestinian terrorism.” The head of the European Council, Michel, invited all participants to do their part to “break the vicious circle of violence in the Middle East,” and confirmed Israel’s right to protection from Hamas terror in accordance with international law, including humanitarian law.

European participants also focused on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Israel has kept the region under blockade since August 8 and has also cut off water and electricity supplies (measures taken the day after Hamas attacked the Jewish state). In total, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 4,385 Palestinians were killed during Israeli air attacks in the region. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has proposed creating a humanitarian corridor from Sinai to the Arab enclave, which she says could lead to de-escalation. Representatives from Britain, Italy and Germany asked the Israeli military to show restraint in the conflict.

In turn, Bogdanov called on the warring parties to immediately stop the spiral of violence, to provide humanitarian corridors “for the purpose of urgently providing assistance to all those in need” and invited the participants to form a collective mediation mechanism with an active role of regional states to solve problems in the Middle East. The American representative in Cairo declined to speak.

Cairo initially did not plan to find common ground between the summit participants in order to reach a final declaration, Suleymanov believes. According to him, for the Egyptian authorities, a representative forum on the Palestinian problem is primarily an image story in order to raise its international weight. On the other hand, the expert believes, Cairo wanted to demonstrate to Muslim states that Egypt continues to be a key player in the Arab world.

The remaining participants, Suleymanov believes, also initially did not count on the adoption of the final declaration and in every possible way demonstrated an imitation of vigorous activity: “Everyone understands that without the involvement of the conflicting parties, it will not be possible to reduce regional tensions in the region. Therefore, we have not seen any real steps towards achieving at least a ceasefire agreement.”

Shortly before the opening of the summit on October 21, 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrived through the Egyptian Rafah checkpoint into southern Gaza for the first time since October 7. The Palestinian side subsequently expressed disappointment that fuel was not included in the shipment and that the aid amounted to only 3% of the daily supplies that reached the Palestinian enclave before the escalation began.

The decrease in the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza may be due to severe damage to the checkpoint after Israeli air strikes, Suleymanov explains. In addition, the expert continues, Cairo fears potential military provocations and militant attacks on cargo convoys, which could lead to accusations against the Egyptian authorities of their inability to ensure the security of the corridor. “In this matter, Egypt would like to withdraw itself. He insists that the problem of the Gaza Strip must be resolved within the Palestinian enclave,” the expert added.

Cairo fears that with the opening of the checkpoint for refugees, Hamas militants may enter Sinai, continues Andrey Zeltyn, a senior lecturer at the School of Oriental Studies at the Higher School of Economics. In addition, Egypt today is experiencing economic difficulties, and 1 million refugees could become an unbearable burden for it on the eve of the elections, the expert noted.

The peace summit in Cairo took place against the backdrop of Israel’s impending ground military operation in the Gaza Strip. On October 20, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, during a speech to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, presented a three-phase plan for a military campaign in the Palestinian enclave. According to him, the IDF ground operation will begin only after the destruction of Hamas personnel and infrastructure in the region. After this, Tel Aviv plans to create a “security regime” in the enclave, without specifying what this regime will be and who will govern the territory.

On October 21, Bloomberg, citing sources in the American administration, wrote that after the liquidation of Hamas cells and their allies in Gaza, the Israeli authorities plan to form an interim government in the region with the support of the UN and with the participation of the governments of Arab states. According to the agency’s interlocutors, the start of the military ground operation is delayed due to the fact that Israel is giving time to the remaining residents to leave the northern part of the strip, and also hopes to hold secret negotiations with Palestinian militants on the release of hostages through the mediation of Qatar. In total, according to the Israeli military department, Hamas militants may hold captives of 212 people.

Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip is inevitable: its cancellation is fraught with worse consequences for Israel, says Zeltyn. “Naturally, the invasion of Israeli troops will be associated with losses of the Palestinian population. But abandoning the operation will lead in the future to a repeat of a new attack by Hamas militants on Israeli settlements,” he noted.

The Israeli military is still conducting preparatory work to prepare reservists for combat in dense urban environments, Suleymanov said. “Obviously, this will not be an easy operation: the militants are well prepared for urban guerrilla warfare and have built an extensive network of underground tunnels. The fighting could drag on and lead to even greater casualties. In addition, there may be a threat to the lives of the hostages held by Hamas,” the expert explained.