Diaa Rashwan, head of the General Authority for Information in Egypt, denied the Israeli defense team’s allegations at the International Court of Justice that Egypt is responsible for blocking humanitarian and relief aid to the Gaza Strip at the Rafah crossing.
Rashwan clarified that the falsity of Israeli claims is evident as Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Minister of Energy, have publicly stated numerous times since the aggression on Gaza began that they would not allow aid, especially fuel, into the Gaza Strip, as part of their war on the region.
He pointed out that after these statements, which did not consider this blockade and siege as war crimes and genocide under international law, Israel, when faced with documented evidence of these crimes at the International Court of Justice, attempted to shift the blame to Egypt to escape likely condemnation by the court.
Rashwan emphasized that Egypt’s sovereignty extends only to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, while the other side in Gaza is under the de facto authority of the occupying forces. This is reflected in the mechanism for entry of aid from the Egyptian side to the Kerem Shalom crossing linking the sector to Israeli territories, where it is inspected by the Israeli army before being allowed into Gaza.
He added that Egypt has repeatedly stated officially, starting from the President, the Foreign Ministry, and all relevant authorities, that the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side is continuously open, urging the Israeli side not to prevent the flow of humanitarian aid to the sector and to stop deliberately delaying aid entry under the pretext of inspection.
Rashwan also noted that many world leaders, including the UN Secretary-General, visited the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, but none were able to cross into the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli military’s prevention or their fear for their lives due to the continuous Israeli bombing of the sector.
He stressed that the negotiations around the humanitarian truces in the Gaza Strip, in which Egypt, Qatar, and the United States were involved, witnessed strong Israeli obstinacy in determining the amount of aid the occupation forces would allow into the sector, given their military control. This eventually led to the entry of the quantities announced at the time.
Rashwan concluded that in light of Israel’s continued intentional disruption of aid entry at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Egypt resorted to having Egyptian trucks with their drivers enter directly into the territory of the sector to distribute aid to its inhabitants, instead of transferring it to Palestinian trucks for this purpose.
He pointed out that the control of the Israeli army over the entry of aid into the sector and its deliberate obstruction were acknowledged by U.S. President Joe Biden, who asked to open the Kerem Shalom crossing to facilitate its entry, as announced by his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on December 13 as good news.
Rashwan concluded by stating that if the Israeli authorities truly wished for the entry of food, medical supplies, and fuel into the sector, they should immediately open their six crossings with the sector for trade and not just for aid entry, especially considering that this trade reached more than $4.7 billion in 2022, benefiting the Israeli commercial and industrial sector.
