CAIRO, Feb 13 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt said yesterday that, Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, is sabotaging Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo.
On Saturday, Smotrich called on Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, not to send an Israeli representative to Cairo for hostage talks, according to the Times of Israel news website.
In a statement released yesterday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said, Smotrich “continues to make irresponsible and inflammatory statements, which only reveal a hunger for killing and destruction, and sabotage any attempt to contain the crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
Smotrich told his faction that Egypt “bore considerable responsibility for what happened on Oct 7” given that arms were smuggled to Hamas largely through Egypt.
The ministry considered that, “such statements are completely unacceptable, as Egypt has complete control over its territory and does not allow any party to involve Egypt’s name in any failed attempt to justify its shortcomings.”
Egypt is hosting new rounds of negotiations, under Egyptian-Qatari sponsorship, with the goal of bringing calm to the Gaza Strip and releasing Palestinian prisoners and Israeli detainees.– NNN-MENA