Egypt said on Monday it was willing to join a potential international force deployed to Gaza, but only if backed by a UN Security Council resolution and accompanied by a “political horizon”, as ceasefire efforts pressed on in Cairo.
Egypt has repeatedly called for Palestinian unity under the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Palestinian Authority previously governed Gaza before losing power in 2007 during clashes with Hamas.
“We are standing ready of course to help, to contribute to any international force to be deployed in Gaza in some specific parameters,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told a joint press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa at the Rafah border crossing on Monday.
Temporary committee
“First of all, to have a Security Council resolution, to have a clear-cut mandate, and of course to come within a political horizon,” Abdelatty said.
“Without a political horizon, it will be meaningless to deploy any forces there.”
Abdelatty said a political framework would enable international troops to operate more effectively and support Palestinians “to realise their own independent Palestinian state in their homeland.”
