KUALA LUMPUR: Egypt will not back down from its efforts and will continue to pursue an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
This commitment was relayed by Egyptian ambassador to Malaysia Ragai Tawfik Said Nasr in the wake of negotiations for a six-week-long Gaza ceasefire, which was brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, reached an impasse few days before the holy month of Ramadan.
Ragai Tawfik said Egypt will continue to try to capitalise on its peace treaty with Israel to negotiate for a permanent ceasefire and end the crisis affecting the Palestinians in Gaza.
"There is still hope. And we will never stop with our efforts (for a peaceful solution on the situation in Gaza).
"Our efforts are going on a stage-by-stage basis.The most important stage now is a ceasefire as well as to allow immediate entry of the hundreds and thousands of aid from Egypt (to enter Gaza).
"That is the way to go, insyaAllah. Having said that, we will never stop hoping although we have been doing this for almost 10 years," he told reporters.
Reuters recently reported that the four-day negotiations for a six-week-long ceasefire ended in a standstill with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the lack of agreement.
The talks were mediated by Qatar and Egypt for a 40-day ceasefire amid fears violence could escalate during the fasting month.
Egyptian security sources told Reuters that talks, taking place without an Israeli delegation in Cairo, would resume on Sunday, the expected start of Ramadan.
During the press conference with the Malaysian media, Ragai Tawfiq also fielded several questions including the reason why Egypt did not deploy its troops to help Palestinians in Gaza.
"There is a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Maybe some of our brothers here don't remember that
there is an Oslo agreement (Accords) (between Israel and Palestine).
"And it is because of that peace agreement that we have with Israel that we are able to negotiate with them through our mediators to achieve the 'end goal', that is an end to this crisis (in Gaza).
"Egypt doesn't have any hidden agenda. In fact, we are very clear with our agenda; that is peace in the region and championing the welfare of our brothers... the Palestinians.
"So we are using this peace agreement to be a mediator between both sides. InsyaAllah, hopefully, it can produce something (good for the people of Palestine)," he said.