Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, has said
she is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza,
following a visit to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and a
meeting with President el-Sisi.
During a visit to Egypt, the Foreign Affairs Committee
investigated conditions in Al Arish, on Egypt’s border with Gaza.
The city in North Sinai is the organising point for all aid
entering Gaza via the heavily controlled Rafah crossing, the only
point of transit between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
In Al Arish, MPs visited an Egyptian Red Crescent Society
warehouse, where they spoke with local volunteers about the
serious difficulties distributing aid to Gaza. They also met
with patients evacuated from Gaza and medics at the Al
Arish General Hospital, and with officials from the UN’s
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) and other humanitarian agencies such as UNICEF.
MPs also spent time in Cairo, where in addition to the
President they met with senior Egyptian government
representatives including Assistant Foreign Minister for Europe
Khaled Emara and Assistant Minister for Arab Affairs Mohamed El
Badri. They also met with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh
Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and Egyptian civil society
leaders and human rights activists.
The Committee also conducted meetings in Saudi Arabia, including
with the Minister of Commerce Majid Al Qassabi; Head of Policy
Planning in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rayed Krimly; members
of the Shura Council; President of the Human Rights Commission
Hala Al Tawaijri and officials from the US Embassy in Saudi
capital Riyadh.
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, , said:
“We’ve just returned from the aid staging location in
Egypt, where thousands of trucks are sat waiting to
deliver aid. Egypt is playing an important role in the current
crisis as a mediator between Israel and Hamas towards a
truce and enabling the delivery of humanitarian
aid into Gaza. We also held important discussions with
counterparts regarding crises such as Sudan, Yemen and beyond.
“I am deeply concerned about the situation Members of the Foreign
Affairs Committee saw at Egypt’s border with Gaza. We
saw hundreds upon hundreds of
trucks sitting in Al Arish, unable to deliver
their goods to those so desperately in need of the
lifesaving aid they carry due to insufficient opening hours
of the crossing, inconsistent restrictions on what items can
enter Gaza, and a lack of de-confliction to protect
humanitarian operations. We also saw tonnes of goods that
had been rejected. Last month there was almost a week where
no trucks entered Gaza with aid and 17,000 children are now
unaccompanied due to being separated from their families or being
orphaned.
“Saudi Arabia is an important and influential power broker in the
Middle East, with a key role to play in maintaining stability in
the region. It was productive to discuss with interlocutors
the crisis in Gaza, how to bring a long-term
resolution to the conflict, and to discuss geopolitical
priorities such as Yemen and beyond.”
