Egypt urges deployment of intl force to monitor Gaza ceasefire
Egypt is pushing to fast-track the deployment of the international stabilization force tasked with advancing the ceasefire in Gaza amid reports of continued civilian casualties from Israeli military strikes and Tel Aviv's efforts to tighten its grip on the West Bank.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held a phone call on Sunday with his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, calling for the immediate deployment of an international stabilization force to monitor the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Abdelatty also emphasized the critical need to advance to the second phase of the United States-proposed peace plan and reiterated Egypt's support for the newly formed Palestinian technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG.
His appeal followed an Al Jazeera report that Israel has been killing more civilians than fighters despite a ceasefire.
Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' political leader abroad, noted at an Al Jazeera forum that it was necessary to provide an environment that allows reconstruction and relief, and for Israel to end its occupation, ensuring that the conflict does not reignite in Gaza if Hamas were to disarm.
In the latest developments, Israeli forces detained more than 20 Palestinians during large-scale detention operations across the West Bank on Monday, WAFA news agency reported.
Furthermore, Israel's security cabinet approved decisions on Sunday to deepen Israel's control over the occupied West Bank and the expansion of the Jewish settlement there, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Among the controversial measures approved were repealing a Jordanian-era law banning land sales to Jews, removing the requirement for special transaction permits, and renewing a state land acquisition committee that ceased operating around 20 years ago, according to a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In a statement, the Palestinian Presidency denounced what it called "dangerous decisions" approved by the Israeli cabinet, which "aimed at deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank".
Hussein Al Sheikh, the vice-president of the State of Palestine, has called on the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations Security Council to hold emergency sessions to discuss the decisions of the Israeli government.
Apart from Egypt, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkiye condemned the Israeli decisions aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity and enforcing a "new legal and administrative reality in the West Bank".
The ministers also warned against continued expansionist Israeli policies and renewed their call to the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to compel Israel to halt its dangerous escalation and "the inciting statement of its officials".
Nagapushpa Devendra, a West Asia analyst and research scholar at the University of Erfurt in Germany, said what was unfolding reveals a structural problem, not a tactical one.
"The core issue isn't ceasefires, forces, or sequencing; it's that the incentives on the ground are moving in opposite directions. One track gestures toward de-escalation and stabilization, the other quietly locks in irreversible facts," Devendra told China Daily.
"It reflects exhaustion, not consensus. Pushback within the (United Nations) indicates concern that accountability is being bypassed in favor of managed arrangements. That doesn't build peace, it narrows responsibility and weakens legitimacy," she added.
jan@chinadailyapac.com
