Egypt's intelligence chief in Ramallah, Tel Aviv to discuss peace process

Egyptian intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, yesterday held talks on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process in Ramallah and Tel Aviv.

MENA reported that Kamel’s visit was commissioned by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and aimed at “advancing Egypt’s efforts in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.”

Kamel held a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during which he conveyed Al-Sisi’s message of “Egypt’s continuous support for the Palestinian cause, and aims to achieve stability in all the Palestinian territories.”

During the visit, Kamel also met with the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his National Security Adviser, Eyal Hulata. They were reported to have discussed “measures to maintain peace across all the Palestinian territories, as well as the latest developments in Egyptian-Israeli relations.”

Kamel also extended an official invitation to Bennett, on behalf of Al-Sisi, to visit Cairo in the coming weeks.

The Palestinian-Israeli negotiations stalled in 2014, for several reasons, including Israel’s continued settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories and its unwillingness to release Palestinian prisoners has had previously been agreed.

Earlier in May, an Egypt-sponsored ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Palestinian factions to end the occupation’s 11-day military assault on the occupied Gaza Strip.

More than two million Palestinians live in Gaza and suffer from poor living conditions due to the 14-year-old Israeli siege on the enclave.

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