Mohammed Abu Zaid
CAIRO: A trilateral summit between the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine took place in Cairo on Thursday to discuss issues of mutual concern, including the Palestinian cause.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace.
Bassam Radi, spokesman for the presidency, said the meeting discussed the latest developments regarding the Palestinian peace process.
El-Sisi reaffirmed Cairo’s pledge to help the Palestinians restore their legitimate rights, push for the resumption of peace negotiations and consolidate the truce between the Palestinians and Israel, stressing the importance of unified efforts to achieve a political settlement.
He also stressed Egypt’s vision of how to revive the peace process, stabilize the truce in the Gaza Strip, and reconstruct the enclave, adding that achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent state will only come by uniting the long-standing divisions between the West Bank and Gaza.
President Abbas and King Abdullah thanked El-Sisi for hosting the summit, emphasizing that the meeting represented an opportunity for discussion and exchange of views on how to put the Palestinian issue back on top of the international community’s priorities.
Abbas said he appreciated Egypt’s historic role in seeking a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, which was recently manifested in Cairo’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Abbas also underlined El-Sisi’s subsequent initiative for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The three agreed to continue intensive consultation and coordination for next steps regarding support for the Palestinian cause at various forums and at all levels.
Egypt and Jordan have been in talks with regional and international parties to revive the Israeli-Palestinian talks following the international resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
