Joint Press Statement - Egypt/France/Jordany (Cairo, 30 march 2024)

The ministers of the Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of France, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, met in Cairo on 30 March 2024 to discuss the Palestinian question and the situation in Gaza.

The Ministers hereby :

• Called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza strip, and demanded the full implementation of Security Council Resolutions 2712, 2720, and 2728, including the facilitation of humanitarian access to Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages.

• Condemned all violations and abuses of International Law and International Humanitarian Law.

• Warned against the horrific consequences over the humanitarian situation, the famine and the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip, and stressed their opposition to any attempts of forcible transfer and displacement of the Palestinian People which are illegal under International Law.

• Highlighted the importance of the role of Egypt in the efforts aiming at reducing the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza as well as in the negotiations addressing the issues of ceasefire, hostages and detainees.

• Called for the implementation of the provisional measures decided by the International Court of Justice on the 26thJanuary and on the 28th March 2024.

• Called for rapid, safe and unhindered access of humanitarian assistance at scale, directly to the civilian population in need, into and throughout the Gaza Strip, and demanded Israel to lift all obstacles and allow and facilitate the use of all land crossings and to increase their capacity with a view to expanding the flow of the humanitarian assistance in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions.

• Commended the indispensable efforts of the United Nations and its agencies, including UNRWA, which play a critical role in providing life- saving humanitarian assistance to civilian population in the Gaza strip, and reiterated the importance of the respect and protection of all humanitarian personnel and to ensure their access and freedom of movement to and throughout Gaza, including the Northern part.

• Opposed any military attack on Rafah, that shelters 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, as any attack on Rafah will incur massive loss of life and exacerbate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip.

• Called for upholding unchanged the Status Quo of Jerusalem’s Holy Sites, including the role of the Jordanian Jerusalem Awqaf Department under the Hashemite custodianship, and expressed their deep concern by the growing pressure against Christian and Muslim communities in Jerusalem.

• Stressed the imperative of the implementation of the Two State Solution based on relevant UN resolutions, including the establishment of an independent, sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian State on the basis of the 1967 lines, aiming at Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.

• Stressed the need for the security council to address the situation on the ground as well as the political aspect of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, to which France, as a permanent member of the Council, is committed to.