Cairo Peace Summit: Arab and Western clashing perspectives

A significant difference in perspective between the Arab and Western nations became obvious during the Cairo Peace Summit.

The Arab view of the scale of the Israeli attack on Gaza and the resulting humanitarian tragedy due to the blockade imposed on Gaza was met with a Western perspective focused on what Hamas had done in the Gaza Strip settlements.

The Arab nations were inclined towards issuing a strong statement condemning Israel for its massacres. At the same time, some Western countries leaned towards a statement condemning Hamas while rejecting calls for an immediate ceasefire.

However, they were willing to accept conditions for aid delivery through the Rafah crossing.

Most Western nations participating were not initially willing to issue any statement, regardless of its wording.

Qatar, whose Emir left the summit before its conclusion, attended it out of respect for the participants and did not intend to deliver a speech.

On the other hand, Egypt attempted to find a relatively balanced formula but failed.

This can be interpreted through the Egyptian presidential statement issued after the summit, which spoke of a defect in international values.

Furthermore, it criticized the rush and competition to kill innocents in one place and an incomprehensible hesitation to condemn the same act in another place, according to the statement.

The vague title "Cairo Peace Summit" indicates that even discussing a ceasefire was unacceptable to the West.

It is more likely that Egypt and Jordan, concerned about any international attempts to relocate part of the Palestinians to their territories, wanted to host a summit, even if it resulted in no significant outcomes.

This was in the hope that their concerns would find some Western understanding, dispelling some of their fears that a solution might come at their expense.