Sisi: Egypt supports resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
The Egyptian president said that Cairo will continue its efforts to end the dispute between Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction and Hamas.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI(photo credit: VASILY FEDOSENKO / REUTERS)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday that Egypt supports the resumption of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.Sisi, who was speaking during a meeting in Cairo with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said “the current stage requires solidarity and intensification of all Arab efforts to resume the peace process.”Bassam Radi, spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency, quoted Sisi as saying the Palestinian issue “will remain a priority in Egyptian politics.” Sisi, he added, “stressed the firmness of the Egyptian position toward the Palestinian issue and Egypt’s full support for Palestinian positions and choices to reach a political settlement” with Israel.Sisi also confirmed Egypt’s continued efforts “to the restoration of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights in accordance with international resolution,” Radi said.Sisi and Abbas agreed during the meeting “to continue intensive consultations and coordination in order to follow up on the steps that would be taken during the coming period to resolve the current situation by returning to the path of negotiations,” the Egyptian spokesman said.Sisi and Abbas also discussed the situation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Sisi told Abbas that Egypt would pursue its efforts to preserve security and stability in the coastal enclave and improve the humanitarian and economic situation there.The Egyptian president said Cairo will continue its efforts to end the dispute between Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction and Hamas.Abbas, who visited Jordan on Sunday and met with King Abdullah II, is seeking Arab support for his initiative to convene an international conference for peace in the Middle East in the coming months. It was Abbas’s first trip abroad since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year.Palestinian officials said Abbas, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday night, met with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and discussed with him the international conference initiative.Relations between the Palestinians and the Arab League have been strained after the Arab foreign ministers refused to endorse a Palestinian draft resolution condemning Arab states for normalizing their relations with Israel.
The officials said Abbas was optimistic that a new US administration under President-elect Joe Biden would be more open-minded toward the Palestinians than the administration of President Donald Trump.
