Egypt’s Sisi to Israel: Any solution won’t harm your security

A political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not be at the expense of the Israeli public’s “security and stability”, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said yesterday.

Speaking at Egypt’s sixth National Youth Conference held in the capital Cairo, Al-Sisi called on the Israelis to seize what he described as “a great opportunity for real peace and stability in the region by finding a solution to the Palestinian issue.”

The UN is (Security Council) another lost battle for the Palestinians – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Egypt, Al-Sisi added, has been “quietly” exerting efforts to support reaching a solution to the conflict. “The ‘deal of the century’ is a media term rather than a political one,” he noted.

“We cannot accept anything the Palestinians do not accept and we support what they accept,” Al-Sisi stressed.

The Egyptian leader reiterated that Egypt is continuing to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on the 1967 borders and the relevant United Nations (UN) resolutions.

“Egypt’s policies are clear. We support all UN decisions, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and [an Israeli withdrawal] to pre-1967 borders,” he said.

On the current situation in the besieged Gaza Strip, Al-Sisi pointed out that Egypt is working on a reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) “to have a united leadership for negotiations with Israel on the Palestinian cause”.

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“Egypt is seeking to lighten the burden on Gazans and that’s why the Rafah crossing was open for the past two months,” the president noted.