PLO official meets Arab ministers in Cairo to discuss Gaza

The general secretary of the PLO executive committee held talks with Arab foreign ministers in Cairo today to discuss efforts to end Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza, Reuters has reported. The ministers were also due to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting Arab capitals in an effort to secure a ceasefire of at least six weeks in the enclave.

According to the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson, the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s Hussein Al-Sheikh and the ministers discussed “efforts to stop the Israeli war against Gaza, the inevitability of achieving a ceasefire, and full access to aid” for the Palestinians.

Blinken was also due to meet with Al-Sheikh — a confidante of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and an intermediary in contacts with Israel — along with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, as well as the UAE’s state minister for international cooperation.

The PA exercises limited control of the occupied West Bank, but it could play a role in administering Gaza once fighting ends. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already expressed strong opposition to this.

Blinken had already met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to discuss the negotiations to secure an immediate ceasefire in the war, now in its sixth month, and the release of all hostages held by Hamas, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. They also discussed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel.

Blinken’s first stop on his latest Middle East tour was Saudi Arabia. He met Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed Bin Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan on Wednesday.

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