Sisi reiterates peace efforts

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pledged that Egypt will continue its efforts to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Sisi’s office said Monday.

The statement came after a meeting between the Egyptian president and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm e-Sheikh on the sidelines of an international conference.

“Sisi affirmed that Egypt will continue its efforts to resume negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides in order to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the right of the Palestinians to establish an independent state along June 1967 borders,” the statement said, according to the official PA news site Wafa.

Since President Donald Trump assumed office, Egyptian officials, including Sisi, have met with American, Palestinian and Israeli officials to discuss the peace process.

Egypt has also taken the lead in sponsoring reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas. Last month, Egypt brokered a deal between the two to restore the PA’s governing authority in the Gaza Strip.

“Ongoing Egyptian moves to help our Palestinian brothers start a new stage of unity in the Palestinian ranks is preparation for a just peace between Palestinian and Israeli sides,” the Egyptian president said in a speech in early October.

A readout of Abbas and Sisi’s meeting in Wafa said the two leaders discussed the peace process and reconciliation, without providing details.

Later on Monday, Abbas flew to Riyadh to meet with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

It was not clear whether Abbas would meet with the two Saudi leaders on Monday or Tuesday.

PA Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bassem al-Agha said Abbas’s visit to Riyadh “comes in the context of continuing bilateral communications and deepening ties between the two countries.”