Will the outcomes of the tripartite Cairo summit succeed in stopping the war in Gaza?

During the trilateral summit held in Cairo, Egypt, specifically at Al-Ittihadiya Palace between Jordanian King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the host leader of the summit, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the convening of this extremely important summit coincided with the issue of resolving the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the continued Israeli strikes on Gaza, and the launching of several rockets from the Gaza Strip, amid a strong threat from Netanyahu to respond. The convening of this trilateral summit also coincided with President Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington to discuss the issue of customs duties imposed on most countries of the world, including Israel, in addition to discussing the recent developments in Gaza and the Iranian issue.

Macron met with Sisi before the Jordanian monarch joined them. This is Macron's fourth historic visit to Egypt. The two leaders toured a Cairo market, engaged in popular discussions, and posed for photos with passersby. Today, Macron is scheduled to visit the city of Arish (the Egyptian city of Arish is approximately 50 kilometers from Rafah, the only crossing point into the Gaza Strip from Egypt), where he will meet with several civil society organizations and medical institutions, and meet with wounded Palestinians in Arish hospitals. It is worth noting that Egypt and France enjoy distinguished relations on the political, cultural, and economic levels. Several agreements will be signed between them in various fields, such as health, energy, and the delivery of French Rafale fighter jets to Egypt. Macron will also visit one of the metro lines, as France oversees the management of the Cairo metro.

The Jordanian statement on the summit emphasized the need to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire in the region, alongside intensive political efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution. King Abdullah II warned against the continuation of unilateral measures against Palestinians in the West Bank and expressed his appreciation for Egypt's position, under the leadership of President Sisi, in supporting Arab causes. Jordan's position rejects displacement and calls for an end to attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem.

Regarding the French position, it condemns the resumption of attacks on Gaza, which represents a tragic threat to civilians and also poses a danger to hostages and families, and also affects the entire region. Macron issues an urgent appeal for a ceasefire, and also calls for Hamas to release the hostages it is holding, and for negotiations to be credible, including the issue of rebuilding and reconstructing Gaza without delay, with the aim of resolving and calming the situation in Gaza. Macron also stressed that France strongly supports both Egypt and Jordan in their position on the non-forced displacement of Palestinians and residents of Gaza. France stands against the principle of annexing the West Bank and Gaza because this is a violation of international law and will threaten the security of the region, including Israel, and also threatens the issue of rebuilding Gaza, which was adopted by the Arab League in its resolution dated March 4. The Egyptian leadership adopted the direction of building a realistic path for rebuilding Gaza, which will open the way for the establishment of a new Palestinian government for the Strip, led by a competent national authority, and with the exclusion of Hamas’s participation (the Gaza demilitarized zone).

The most important item on the agenda of this tripartite summit is a call for the international community to pressure Israel to stop the war. I believe there is no political or military solution on the horizon without a ceasefire between the two warring parties in Gaza.

Unfortunately, at this critical stage, when the conflict in Gaza is escalating, especially the suspension of humanitarian aid to the Strip and its residents and the continuation of the war between the two parties, this will inevitably undermine any international meetings and statements issued by them. The main issue and goal here is to succeed in stopping the war completely, and without stopping the war, I do not believe that any solutions proposed by this tripartite summit will be successful within any international efforts to resolve the crisis. Without stopping the war in the Strip, it is impossible and impossible to be able to rebuild. At a time when the conflict is still ongoing, the war has destroyed many areas and regions of the Strip, where there are many completely destroyed areas. I believe that in some areas there are explosives, mines and remnants of war, which will inevitably lead to obstructing and hindering reconstruction, and will make it take a long time first to clean and rehabilitate the affected area in order to begin the reconstruction process and rebuild the infrastructure.

Here I would like to raise a very important point, which is that at this stage there are no suitable housing units in the stricken Strip. Therefore, the most important question here is: Where will the residents of the Strip live, especially those whose homes were completely destroyed, until the Strip is rebuilt?

I believe that the issue of reconstruction is the most difficult to implement due to the raging war and the destruction of vast areas in the Gaza Strip. I also believe that these meetings and the talk about non-displacement, which Jordan, Egypt and France collectively reject at this tripartite summit, were intended to seek a solution to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. This summit also supports the Arab plan in its content, with some new amendments to it, which aims to reach a political path to exit the current political and military crisis, the most important of which is opening the currently closed crossings to seek the entry of humanitarian aid, as well as seeking to exit this crisis that has been ongoing for more than a year and a half, based on the principle of the two-state solution.

The crucial question here is: Will the efforts of this tripartite summit succeed in halting the military conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza? Or will the military conflict between them continue, causing continued suffering for the Palestinian people, prisoners, and kidnapped persons on both sides?