By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- Egypt’s President Fattah Al-Sisi invited at least 140 world leaders and top officials to a peace conference on Gaza in Cairo which met over the last two days to come up with some resolutions to the conflict in Gaza. Turkiye’s President Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have been heavily involved in talks and Erdogan was on a call Saturday with the leader of Hamas. The Turkish president and foreign minister have been urging a ceasefire and stressing how crucial opening up a humanitarian corridor is to let in aid that was sitting on the Egyptian border. On Saturday, a convoy of 20 trucks was permitted into Gaza to deliver the much needed aid consisting of food, water, medical supplies and other necessities. The situation is dire with Hamas still holding at least 200 hostages with only two American hostages freed several days ago.
Meanwhile, worldwide protests showing solidarity with the Palestinians have continued to grow and the continuous bombing of Gaza by Israeli Defense Forces with Israel cutting off electricity, gas and water to Gaza residents – now being called a war crime. Leaders at the Cairo Peace Conference all agreed that a two-state solution is necessary in order to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for good. Analysts and experts on the region pointed out that Israeli officials and representatives were conspicuously absent from the conference. Any move toward a two-state solution must include the Israeli side, Arab leaders emphasized and noted that without their presence, achieving any semblance of peace in the region won’t happen. U.S. President Joe Biden who visited Israel several days ago said that rescuing hostages must be a priority. The issue remains the ongoing bombing of Gaza while the hostages remain in secret locations. Though Erdogan, Fidan and a host of other world leaders are urgently calling for a ceasefire including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres – so far, Israel is refusing to comply. Many on both sides, Palestinians and Israelis alike question the purpose of a total bombing of Gaza. As one older Palestinian man who spoke to Turkiye’s TRT World News said, no matter how many bombs are dropped on Gaza, that won’t lead to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
