Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy addresses Palestine Center on Gaza situation

The Palestine Center hosted Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy to speak on the recent events in Gaza.

Last month, Palestinians forced entry into Egypt to restock on food, medicine, and other supplies after Israel sealed off Gaza and halted fuel supplies causing a severe humanitarian crisis for the tiny strip of land's 1.5 million residents.

Fahmy called the Israeli siege on Gaza “morally untenable” and a “policy of complete failure.” He said that he supports “open, transparent, and secure” border channels between Egypt and Gaza and that Egypt will continue to push for a peace through a two-state solution. According to him, Hamas should not be excluded from peace negotiations and that pressure for Hamas to change its policy towards Israel must be driven by the Palestinians themselves.

He reiterated Egypt's support for Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas who currently only holds control of the West Bank, and said that the humanitarian conditions there are only marginally better than in Gaza despite Hamas' lack of authority in that region. He said that Israel is still expanding its settlements and constructing road barriers in the West Bank making a break down of of peace negotiations inevitable.