DATE: 01/12/2020
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.
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.
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.
