Egyptian president to Israelis: ‘Great chance’ for peace with Palestinians

The Egyptian president called on Israelis to take advantage of a “great chance” to make peace with Palestinians. 

By: World Israel News Staff

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi on Sunday called on Israelis to take advantage of what he called “a great chance” for peace with Palestinians.

“I address the Israeli public opinion that there is a great chance for real peace and stability in the region by finding a solution to this issue,” Sisi said at a youth conference at Cairo University, according to the Xinhua news agency.

“This solution will not at all be against your security and stability,” Sisi said through the televised event, in response to a question posed to him by the audience.

Sisi, however, repeated Egypt’s well-known and historical position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that posits the creation of a Palestinian state within the borders of the land that came under Israeli control in the wake of the Six Day War, which includes all of the Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and large swathes of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and Old City. These are areas where hundreds of thousands of Jews now live.

“The ‘Deal of the Century’ is a media term rather than a political one,” Al-Sisi reportedly said according to Xinhua. “We cannot accept anything the Palestinians do not accept and we support what they accept.”

The Egyptian president said that Egypt has endeavored to make life easier for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The decision to open the Rafah crossing after years of closures, was a result of that endeavor.

Al-Sisi said that he did not necessarily back Trump administration’s “deal of the century.”

“Our position is clear – we stand with the UN resolutions, and with what the Palestinians agree, we will agree, and there is no other way,” he stated.

Meeting with Ron Lauder

Earlier Sunday, Sisi met with US-based World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder. A key step on the way to achieving the goal of an Israeli Palestinian peace deal, Sisi said, was the bringing about of a Palestinian reconciliation agreement in which the Palestinian Authority restores its rule over the Gaza Strip.

In the meeting, Sissi also expressed keenness to strengthen Egypt’s strategic ties with the US, according to Egyptian media.

Abdel Fattah El-SisiEgypt-Israel relations