Egypt’s foreign minister says that Cairo is working with Qatar and Turkey to convince Hamas to accept US President Donald Trump’s plan to end a nearly two-year-old war in Gaza, and warns the conflict will escalate if the Palestinian terrorist group refuses.
Speaking at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris, Badr Abdelatty says it’s clear that Hamas has to disarm and that Israel should not be given an excuse to carry on with its offensive in Gaza.
“Let’s not give any excuse for one party to use Hamas as a pretext for this mad daily killings of civilians. What’s happening is far beyond the seventh of October,” he says, referring to the Hamas-led 2023 terror onslaught that sparked the ongoing war.
“It is beyond revenge. This is ethnic cleansing and genocide in motion. So enough is enough,” Abdelatty adds.
Egypt is a key mediator in efforts to end the Gaza war, and Abdelatty says Cairo is coordinating with Qatar and Turkey to convince Hamas to respond positively to the plan, but he remains very cautious.
“If Hamas refuse, you know, then it would be very difficult. And of course, we will have more escalation. So that’s why we are exerting our intensive efforts in order to make this plan applicable and to get the approval of Hamas,” he says.
Abdelatty says while he is broadly supportive of Trump’s proposal for Gaza, more talks are needed on it.
“There are a lot of holes that need to be filled, we need more discussions on how to implement it, especially on two important issues — governance and security arrangements,” he says. “We are supportive of the Trump plan and the vision to end war and need to move forward.”
When asked whether he fears the Trump plan could lead to forced displacement of Palestinians, he says Egypt will not accept that.
“Displacement will not happen, it will not happen because displacement means the end of the Palestinian cause,” he says. “We will not allow this to happen under any circumstance.”
Abdelatty also declares, “Hamas has no role in the day after.”
“This is a full agreement among us, as Arabs, as Muslims, and even among Hamas people themselves,” the Egyptian diplomat asserts. “They understand very well that they have no role for the day after, and this is a fact.”