Egypt pledges full support to Palestinian cause

CAIRO: Egypt on Monday pledged its continued full support for the Palestinian issue during a visit to Cairo by the state’s President Mahmoud Abbas.

During a meeting, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said the Palestinian cause remained a key political priority for Egypt and that the country would back Palestine in whatever demands it made toward a peaceful settlement and the restoration of the legitimate rights if its people.

El-Sisi added that solidarity and an intensification of Arab efforts to revive the peace process were needed now.

Also present at the talks between the two presidents was Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel, and Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab Al-Louh.

Bassam Rady, official spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency, said that the summit dealt with the latest developments in relation to the Palestinian issue and the peace process in the Middle East.

Abbas noted the importance of maintaining regular consultation and coordination with the Egyptian president on the overall Palestinian situation and thanked Egypt for its long-standing support for Palestinian national unity.

The meeting also reviewed ongoing Egyptian efforts to bring stability to the Gaza Strip and help improve humanitarian, living, and economic conditions there, while pushing the reconciliation process with a view to achieving political consensus.

As part of his first foreign tour since the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Abbas was also due to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II. His trip comes days after the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the restoration of security coordination with the Israelis.

Sources said that Abbas wanted to coordinate Arab positions and rally support for a new unified political process in the region before the US President-elect Joe Biden came into power, adding that the PA had already been in contact with the incoming American president’s team.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said that the PA had indirectly informed Biden’s administration of its readiness to return to negotiations with Israel on the basis of international law decisions.

Earlier, Israeli reports said that Abbas had sent several messages to Biden’s team declaring his willingness to abide by conditions that would allow the opening of a dialogue between him and the new administration in Washington.