Dov Lieber is a former Times of Israel Arab affairs correspondent.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left) meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Sharm el-Sheikh on November 6, 2017. (Thaer Ghanaim / Wafa)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, said he remains committed to bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
“Sissi 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,” a statement from the Egyptian president’s office said, according to the official PA news site Wafa.
Egypt is facilitating the current reconciliation process between rival Palestinian factions Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority.
Last month, the two sides signed an agreement in Cairo allowing for the PA to take control of Gaza by December 1.
Hamas’s new deputy leader Salah al-Arouri (seated L) and Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmad (seated R) sign a reconciliation deal in Cairo on October 12, 2017, as the two rival Palestinian movements work to end their decade-long split following negotiations overseen by Egypt. (AFP Photo/Khaled Desouki)
Sissi has said he hopes Palestinian reconciliation will be part of the larger process of striking a final peace accord with Israel.
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Abbas left from Sharm el-Sheikh to Saudi Arabia on Monday after being suddenly invited to meet with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman in Riyadh.
Abbas is slated to discuss “bilateral relations” with the Saudi rulers today, according to Wafa.
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