KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his United States counterpart, Joe Biden, have agreed in a phone call to allow United Nations aid temporarily through the Karem Abu Salem border crossing into the Gaza Strip.
The agreement was reached during a telephone call between El-Sisi and Biden on Friday, the Egypt’s presidency said in a statement.
“The two presidents discussed the dire humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the lack of means of life, as well as the lack of fuel needed to run hospitals and bakeries.
“The two presidents agreed to deliver quantities of humanitarian aid and fuel through the Karem Abu Salem crossing temporarily, until a legal mechanism is reached to re-operate the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side,” according to the statement.
Karem Abu Salem is also known as Kerem Shalom by Israel.
The Egyptian presidency said Biden expressed his great appreciation for the intensive, diligent and continuous Egyptian efforts and mediation to reach a ceasefire and a truce agreement in the Strip.
“The two presidents agreed on the necessity of intensifying international efforts for the negotiation process to succeed and achieve a breakthrough that ends the protracted humanitarian tragedy that the Palestinian people are experiencing,” it said.
The Egyptian presidency said the call emphasised the necessity of concerted various efforts to implement the two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.
In addition, the two presidents affirmed their rejection of all attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land and expressed their support for all means aimed at preventing the aggravation and expansion of the conflict.
Meanwhile, in the readout of the call, the White House said Biden welcomed the commitment from El-Sisi to permit “the flow of UN-provided humanitarian assistance” through the crossing as “this will help save lives”.
Biden also expressed his full commitment to supporting efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing with arrangements acceptable to both Egypt and Israel, and agreed to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further discussions.
