Cairo has renewed its rejection of what is being circulated in Israeli circles regarding an Egyptian role in managing the Gaza Strip in the post-war phase, during the ongoing war waged by the Israeli army against Hamas, while diplomats emphasized that "the Palestinian people are the ones who decide their fate."

This comes while former Israeli ambassador to Cairo, Yitzhak Levanon, called in an article published by the Hebrew newspaper "Maariv," for Egypt "to take responsibility in the Gaza Strip temporarily after the war ends," similar to the "British and French mandates" in the last century.

The former Israeli diplomat repeated ideas raised during recent weeks regarding the management of the Gaza Strip after the war ends on it, such as Egypt managing the strip, but with an added amendment represented in the idea of a "mandate."

For his part, an informed Egyptian source told "Sky News Arabia" website that "this talk is repetitive, but Cairo's position is fixed, declared, and clearer, and it has been expressed in many situations by categorically rejecting such matters, with urgent efforts to stop the fire in the Gaza Strip and bring in more humanitarian aid."

This is consistent with what the Secretary-General of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ali Al-Hefny, stated in exclusive statements to "Sky News Arabia" that "Egypt does not engage with any circulated proposals in some Israeli and Western circles regarding the post-war stage in the Gaza Strip and having a role for Egypt," describing the talk about this issue as "malicious calls."

With the continued bombing and the intensification of battles on the ground in Gaza, political corridors are discussing the future of the strip after the war ends. While Israel announced it would assume "full security responsibility" indefinitely after the war, Washington confirmed its rejection of this proposal.

The former Israeli ambassador to Cairo believes that "his country's military presence in Gaza after the war poses a problem for it," considering that "the solution is a temporary presence for Egypt to maintain order in the Gaza Strip and supervise its reconstruction."

This comes similar to the mandates imposed by major countries on Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and East Jordan after World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, temporarily as the major countries then said, "to help them complete elements of their independence."

Yitzhak Levanon concludes that Egypt is the solution, saying: "Let us not keep communication between us (Israelis) and Gaza, and here Egypt enters the picture by obtaining a mandate over the strip, similar to the British and French mandates that were in our region in the last century, and the goal is not to return Gaza to Egypt, but to give Egypt a temporary authorization to be in Gaza, where Egypt supervises during this period the reconstruction of Gaza with international financial assistance to make it different from what it is today."

Stable Egyptian positions

In this regard, Ali Al-Hefny, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, defined Cairo's position on these proposals in several points, saying:

Egypt has constants in its foreign policies, especially the Palestinian cause, which it considers the central issue in the region, and peace will not be achieved except by solving the issue justly and equitably based on the principle of the two-state solution.

The Egyptian state has carried a heavy burden since October 7 in confronting attempts by many international powers to change this reality and break away from their positions supporting the establishment of the Palestinian state, thus categorically rejecting attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause in any way.

Any proposals circulating in Israel or some Western circles regarding the position of managing the Gaza Strip "we do not engage with," and our positions are firm, and we see that this land is occupied. Israel has obligations and responsibilities under international laws and must fulfill them.

The Palestinian people have representatives and a government, and the management of the Gaza Strip concerns the Palestinians alone, and they must undertake it, and we should not deprive them of deciding their fate. We see that such proposals circulated by Israel have backgrounds and purposes that we do not agree with; because it is not the path that achieves regional security and peace in the region, especially for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

Everyone must understand that what happened on October 7 had backgrounds, roots, and daily practices by Israel against the Palestinians, and this is rejected by the international community, laws, and international customs.

A Palestinian issue

Egyptian sources previously revealed to "Sky News Arabia" website that Egypt informed the United States of its rejection of Israeli management of the Gaza Strip and of managing the strip during the meeting that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held with the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, last Tuesday.

The sources indicated that el-Sisi told Burns that Egypt does not see a solution to the current conflict except through the two-state solution and that Palestinians obtain their legitimate rights in their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also spoke about statements issued by Israel regarding neighboring countries of Gaza having a role in the future of the strip, clarifying in statements to foreign and Arab correspondents that the focus should now be on ending the current conflict in Gaza and ending the suffering of civilians and not on what comes after, then addressing the appropriate international framework for any arrangements, provided that these arrangements are unified concerning both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Shoukry said it is premature to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip except based on the principles related to both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank being an integrated unit of Palestinian lands and indivisible.

The Egyptian minister pointed to the current situation regarding the Palestinian National Authority and its responsibility for managing the occupied territories, confirming that the Palestine Liberation Organization, as the sole legitimate representative of Palestine, is legally responsible for managing the occupied Palestinian territories.