CIARO / ISTANBUL

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed on Thursday ways to reinforce a Gaza ceasefire deal and achieve de-escalation in the occupied West Bank.

Abdelatty received a phone call from Guterres in which they discussed “developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, international efforts to support de-escalation, reinforce the Gaza ceasefire and calm the situation in the West Bank,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Abdelatty stressed the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803 and ensure unrestricted humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.

Israel continues to violate the Gaza ceasefire agreement, in effect since Oct. 10, while carrying out daily military operations in the West Bank.

Israel has killed more than 70,300 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023, which have continued despite a ceasefire two months ago.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 386 Palestinians have been killed and 1,002 others injured since the ceasefire.

The discussion also covered consultations on deploying an international stabilization force in Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement’s second phase.

Abdelatty underscored the importance of forming a Palestinian technocratic committee to administer Gaza as a step toward returning the Palestinian Authority to the enclave.

He reiterated Egypt’s “absolute rejection” of any plans to displace Palestinians or reshape Gaza’s geographic or demographic reality.

-Settler violence

Abdelatty also warned of escalating risks in the occupied West Bank amid rising illegal settler violence and ongoing land seizures.

This approach threatens to widen instability and places an urgent responsibility on the international community to intervene and halt violations on the ground, he warned.

Palestinians say Israel is intensifying military escalation across the occupied West Bank, including evictions, land confiscation and settlement expansion, in what they describe as steps toward annexation.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,093 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000 and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

Abdelatty highlighted the essential role of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in supporting Palestinian refugees, calling its mandate “irreplaceable.”

His remarks follow Israel’s raid Monday on UNRWA’s closed headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem – an action that prompted regional and international criticism.

The office had operated since 1951 but was vacated early this year after an Israeli government order. The Knesset has since banned the agency’s work in Jerusalem.

Israel claims some UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 events – allegations the agency denies. The UN has affirmed UNRWA’s neutrality.