As Rafah maneuver looms, Egypt's FM affirms: 'Peace with Israel will continue to exist'
Cairo has warned that any operation in Rafah threatens the 1979 peace treaty with Israel
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that "a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel already exists, which has been in effect for the past forty years, and we will continue it."
Shoukry was questioned about the impact of ongoing operations in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza during a press conference in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, which he held with his Slovenian counterpart, Tanja Fajon.
"We will continue our efforts with both parties in order to reach an agreement that leads to the release of prisoners and detainees and ensures the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip."
Shoukry's stressed his country's position that Israel violates international law in Gaza by killing civilians, a claim that Israel denies. In addition, he reaffirmed Egypt's rejection of any influx of Palestinian refugees entering Egypt.
Any peace must come on the basis of establishing a Palestinian state along the lines of the 1967 borders, he added.
Egypt has warned that Israel's looming operation in Rafah, which is feared by Cairo to result in tens of thousands of Palestinians flooding the Egyptian border, will threaten the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
Israel is eyeing Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza, to complete its stated mission of destroying the terrorist organization's capabilities in the Palestinian enclave. Southern Gaza is where the Israeli military urged civilians to flee amid earlier operations in the northern part of the territory.
Israel is also currently making preparations to facilitate the mass movement of civilians to minimize casualties when it does enter Gaza's southernmost city.