Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered a stark warning to the UN General Assembly when he spoke today: either the international community acts to stop Israel’s “wanton and unjust war, driven by an extremist ideology,” or there will be an “explosion” in the Middle East. Abdelatty made clear that it is Egypt—the first country to have laid the foundations for peace in the region with Anwar Sadat’s 1977 visit to Israel—which now warns that those foundations “are now at risk.”
“The multilateral system is being eroded, crimes are being committed in full view of the world, and the international community is a mere spectator,” he charged. He denounced Israel’s “heinous” practices against the Palestinians; its war which “seeks only destruction, killing, and systematic starvation”; “the brutal and unjust war against unarmed innocent civilians,” which the Palestinians are suffering while the world watches “as a spectator.”
Israel’s genocide, occupation, and denial of Palestinian rights “have stripped the region of any hope for peace or security,” he warned. He pointed to Israel’s aggression against Qatar as an example of the spreading threats. “The Middle East stands on the brink of explosion. All the elements of peace, security and stability are absent, and international legitimacy is not respected. Israel cannot enjoy security while denying it to others, and this region cannot enjoy stability without a Palestinian state,” he told the UN General Assembly.
