Cairo: Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, met in Cairo on Tuesday with Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at UNDP, Abdallah Al Dardari.
According to Qatar News Agency, the meeting tackled the situation in Gaza throughout the period following the ceasefire deal signed on Oct. 10. The UN officials explored the situation in the Gaza Strip during this period, which has witnessed a kind of slight improvement in the primary humanitarian situation, amid ongoing difficulties, mostly due to the occupation's restrictive policies in allowing the flow of some dual-use items, including a wide spectrum of goods needed by the enclave to confront exigent crises, particularly in the water and public health sectors.
Alakbarov highlighted the efforts required to restore the minimum threshold of educational, health, and security services in the Gaza Strip, whose infrastructure has been almost entirely crumpled throughout a two-year brazen war waged by the occupation. Locking in the ceasefire deal is contingent upon persistent pressure on the occupying force to lift these arbitrary restrictions, in a manner that allows addressing the humanitarian situation that has been deteriorating for two years, particularly as most essential aid is still piling up at the crossings without being allowed into the Gaza enclave, Aboul Gheit noted.
Overall, the meeting featured profound discussion on the importance of issuing a resolution by the UNSC that allows transition to the second phase of the 20-point plan, enabling all parties to collaborate constructively. Aboul Gheit stressed that the impending resolution has immense significance in determining the mandate of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) currently being formed, which will define the legal framework regulating the missions and powers of this force.
In addition, Aboul Gheit stated that this resolution should be substantially based on internationally agreed references concerning the peace process, a move that reflects political unity for Gaza and the West Bank as one region for Palestinian statehood. He noted that this matter requires an unequivocal role on the part of the Palestinian Authority in any potential plan to manage the Strip.