Mohammed Abu Zaid

CAIRO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to take part in a joint Egyptian-Palestinian-Jordanian summit. One of its aims is to unify their positions on the Palestinian issue before this month’s annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Diab Al-Louh, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt and Palestine’s permanent representative to the Arab League, praised Egypt for its “canonical positions, leadership and people, who stand by the Palestinians and their just causes.”

The visit by Abbas comes days after Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced the tripartite summit in the Egyptian capital, and a meeting this week between Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Azzam Al-Ahmad, member of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s Central Committee, said the summit aims to coordinate the positions of the participating states on Palestine and their efforts to halt the escalation of tensions in the occupied territories.

He added that plans are also underway for an Arab summit to prevent any attempts to harm the Palestinian cause.

Meanwhile, Shtayyeh expressed hopes that the participants at the summit will call on the US administration to fulfill its promises to preserve the two-state solution by taking practical steps to end Israel’s racist settlement policy in the Palestinian Territories, especially Jerusalem governorate.

The summit is also expected to appeal to Washington for help to pave the way for a political solution that leads to the end of the Israeli occupation, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the right of return for refugees.