OPINION:SINCE THE very beginning of the military operation in Gaza, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing on humanitarian grounds. More than 3,949 tonnes of medical equipment have been provided, of which Egypt gave 2,200 tonnes and the rest came from other nations.
Egypt has allowed 754 wounded to cross with 695 family members. Some 586 of these wounded are being treated in Egyptian hospitals.
Some 291 medical teams have been allowed to cross the border, of which 90 are Egyptian doctors, 44 Arab doctors and 157 doctors of other nationalities. Also, seven generators and 91 ambulance vehicles have been provided of which 42 were supplied by Egypt.
Five thousand tonnes of food supplies have crossed the border at the Al-Ouga commercial crossing, 1,700 tonnes of which were provided by Egypt and 464 tonnes have crossed the Ker Salem border, 20 per cent of which was provided by Egypt and the remainder provided by Libya.
The Rafah crossing will remain open for humanitarian assistance until new arrangements are reached on the basis of the 2005 agreement on movement and access between the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel and the EU. The Egyptian Red Crescent Society has facilitated the channelling of goods and services provided by the international community from Egypt to Gaza.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has attested to the quality of the services of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) in this regard. The latter organised a meeting in Cairo on January 10th which was attended by representatives of the UN’s specialised agencies and programmes and representatives of the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross to discuss ways to strengthen relief efforts to Palestinians in Gaza.
The meeting led to the establishment of an emergency committee for the co-ordination of assistance (ECCA) whose objectives include:
1: Co-ordinating all multilateral and bilateral humanitarian assistance directed to Gaza through Egypt, ensuring that the assistance reflects the priorities of the Palestinian people as outlined by the various concerned UN agencies in collaboration with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
2: Co-ordinating with concerned parties the effective, unimpeded and sustained delivery of such assistance.
3: Collaborating in the area of information exchange regarding the humanitarian situation in the field, as well as the efforts by various actors to avoid duplication and redundancies.
The ECCA is operating from headquarters of the ERCS in Cairo with a field presence in Al-Arish and is chaired by the ERCS, with the participation of various international agencies.
Ever since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in Gaza, Egypt has spared no efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire and restoration of the truce. President Mubarak’s initiative of January 6th and the UN’s resolution 1860 have laid the ground for achieving this objective and put in place the conditions for the resumption of reconciliation talks between the PA and Palestinian factions, as well as peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
The summit of European and Arab leaders convened by President Mubarak in Sharm El Sheik on January 18th was also in this vein. Egypt welcomed the Gaza ceasefire on January 18th.
The Egyptian government believes we should collectively work towards achieving a sustainable ceasefire, including cessation of launching rockets against Israeli cities, and it is vital that Israel lifts the blockade imposed on Gaza and opens the different border crossings so as to ensure the provision and distribution throughout the Gaza Strip of humanitarian assistance.
Egypt will be hosting an international conference on March 3rd in support of the Palestinian economy for the reconstruction of Gaza and humanitarian relief efforts.
It is working to establish a durable peace in the Middle East and for the preservation of the lives of all civilians, Arabs or Israelis, whether they are Muslims, Christians or Jews.
Amr Helmy is ambassador of Egypt to Ireland