CAIRO – 2 February 2020: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asserted on Saturday Cairo’s firm stance regarding the Palestinian cause, calling for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state according to international resolutions.
The Egyptian leader Sisi held talks in Cairo on Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of an extraordinary Arab League foreign ministers meeting aimed at addressing US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived Friday in Egypt to attend the Arab League emergency meeting expected on Saturday.
There can be no substitute to direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, said a statement released after Sisi and Abbas’ meeting.
It stressed the need to reach an agreement on a sustainable settlement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, restores all of their legitimate rights and allows them to live in security, stability and peace.
Sisi added to Abbas that Egypt has always been leading efforts to achieve comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East.
Egypt has adopted peaceful coexistence and renounced violence as a strategic and solid approach to its policy for more than 40 years.
For his part, Abbas expressed his appreciation to Egypt’s sincere efforts in supporting the Palestinian cause, hailing Cairo’s historic role to that end.
He also hailed its “intense efforts to push forward national reconciliation and trust building between Palestinian factions in order for them to unite their ranks during this critical time.”
On Friday, Abbas held talks with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who stressed that Arab nations and the Palestinians will succeed in responding to the US peace plan.
Aboul Gheit expressed confidence that the Arab nation would resist and reject this proposal because it fall short of Palestinian demands, reiterating support for the 2002 Arab peace initiative.
Abbas had rejected the peace plan shortly after it was unveiled on Tuesday.
“We say a thousand no's to the Deal of The Century," he declared.
Sun, Feb. 2, 2020
