Abbas meets with Egyptian leader, ahead of talks with Jordan’s king

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi before a planned trilateral summit with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

Abbas and Sissi discuss “the latest political developments, as well as the internal Palestinian situation, and the developments across occupied Palestinian lands,” according to a statement carried by the official PA WAFA news agency.

A spokesperson for Sissi says the Egyptian leader stressed his support for the Palestinian Authority, especially its role in Gaza, as well as strengthening the ceasefire between “the Palestinian and Israeli sides.”

“[Sissi] stressed the importance of joining efforts in order to support the Palestinian position towards a political settlement and push for the resumption of negotiations,” the spokesperson says.

Abbas has met with Abdullah and Sissi separately over the past year and a half, but a trilateral meeting has not taken place since 2017, when the three met on the sidelines of the Arab League’s annual summit.

Sissi has also invited Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to Cairo in the coming weeks for a rare Israeli state visit to the Egyptian capital, according to Bennett’s office.