Egypt slams violence in Gaza, takes back seat in cease-fire talks

In a Foreign Ministry statement, Egypt condemned Israel's targeting of civilians on Monday, countering an earlier tone in which the Egyptian government blamed both Hamas and Israel for the violence.

“Egypt condemns the attacks on the Beach Camp park and the Shifa medical complex in Gaza, which led to the killing and injuring of tens of innocent civilians, including more than 10 martyred children,” the statement said.

Israel's war on Gaza, which started in early July, has claimed more than 1000 lives, with the latest attacks targeting a refugee camp, a hospital and most recently the main power plant.

In the statement, Egypt condemned Israel's “unexcused excessive use of violence” that has targeted civilians in Gaza, especially the elderly, women and children.

In an earlier statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 9, just a day after the Israeli operation on Gaza started, Egypt urged Hamas and Israel to restrain themselves and abandon violence. It condemned the loss of lives on both sides and demanded an immediate cease-fire.

The statement reminded all parties to abide by international human rights law and the Geneva Conventions. Egypt called for a humanitarian cease-fire for negotiations, as per the earlier initiative proposed in mid-July.

Egypt tried to broker a cease-fire a few days into the conflict. While Israel originally accepted the proposal, Hamas slammed it for not respecting any of its demands, particularly with regards to lifting the blockade, which Egypt is helping Israel implement through the Rafah border crossing.

A series of world leaders, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, have met in Cairo since the initiative was announced, in an attempt to push for a cease-fire.

However, there was no notable outcome from the talks, which then moved to Paris, where representatives from the UK, Italy, Germany, France, the European Union, Qatar and Turkey were also involved. Egypt was not present.

The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, cited Western diplomatic sources on Saturday as saying that the meetings in Paris featured countries that have a “guarantor role” in negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The absence of Egypt from these talks, the source said, is not an expression of its unimportant role in the mediation, but the invite went out to countries that can have a more active role in guaranteeing the terms of any negotiation. According to these sources, Qatar and Turkey can play that role in sympathy with Hamas, while the US would do so with Israel.

While Egypt has seemingly been sidelined from talks to convince Hamas to accept a cease-fire, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains consultations are still ongoing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sending an envoy, Fatah Central Committee Member Azzam al-Ahmad, to meet with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. According to the ministry, talks revolved around the Egyptian proposal.

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post said that a Palestinian delegation, including Ahmad, is in Cairo for negotiations that involve Hamas’ Moussa Abou Marzouk and the Islamic Jihad’s Ziyad Nahal.

While Hamas rejected Egypt's proposal, the Palestinian Authority has agreed to it, calling on its rival Gazan leadership to accept it.

Unconfirmed talks have been reported by several media outlets about an Egyptian demand for a Palestinian Authority role in controlling the border crossings between Egypt and Gaza, which would be a condition for lifting the blockade on the strip from the Egyptian side.

Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, announced on Tuesday their readiness for an immediate 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire.

Hamas took over the leadership of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007.

Egypt’s relationship with the Islamist authority has soured following the ‬ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in 2013, with the two groups viewed by Cairo as still deeply connected.