The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Holds a Coordination Meeting to Follow Up on Efforts to Remove Explosive Remnants of War in the Gaza Strip with Broad National and International Participation
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates held today, Wednesday, a coordination meeting to follow up on and coordinate national and international efforts to remove explosives, explosive remnants of war, suspicious objects, and landmines from the Gaza Strip. The meeting brought together a wide range of national and international partners as part of strengthening national leadership and unifying response mechanisms.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Dr. Omar Awadallah, and the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Switzerland and Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations in Geneva, Dr. Ibrahim Khraishi. Representatives from the Ministry of Interior—including Civil Defense and the Palestinian Mine Action Center—the Ministry of Social Development and its Operations Room, and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing also attended at the Ministry’s headquarters.
Via videoconference, representatives participated from the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), the Secretary-General of the International Civil Defence Organization, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the Mine Action Area of Responsibility in the occupied Palestinian territory (MA AoR), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the Implementation Support Unit of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, and the Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD).
The Minister emphasized that the widespread presence of unexploded remnants of war in the Gaza Strip poses a direct threat to civilians’ lives, hinders the delivery of humanitarian aid, and delays recovery and reconstruction efforts. She stressed that removing these hazards is a national and humanitarian priority and underscored the need to unify efforts within a single national coordination framework and a clear operational plan that defines priorities and responsibilities, particularly in vital sites and essential infrastructure.
She also called for adherence to international standards in explosive risk management, the expansion of risk awareness programs, the provision of necessary funding, and the strengthening of national capacities to ensure the sustainability of efforts in the long term.
In this context, the Minister reaffirmed the role of the Palestinian government and its institutions in coordinating all such efforts. She noted that continued restrictions on movement and the entry of equipment limit the ability to carry out actual clearance operations and delay the practical and safe mitigation of risks. She stressed the need for the unlawful occupying power to fulfill its legal responsibilities, remove all obstacles preventing the entry of specialized equipment and technical teams, and ensure a safe environment for the work of specialized crews, in line with its obligations under international law.
The meeting also included interventions from all participating entities, reviewing ongoing efforts and plans in the areas of technical assessment, clearance, capacity-building, and explosive risk awareness. Participants emphasized the need to intensify coordination and complementarity of roles, to immediately open crossings, and to allow the entry of necessary technical equipment and specialized personnel to enable field teams to carry out their tasks effectively and safely, leading to a clear action plan with defined priorities and regular follow-up mechanisms.