Egypt’s Sissi says Jerusalem ‘the backbone of the Palestinian cause’

CAIRO — Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries condemn recent Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where violence has surged between Israel and the Palestinians.

The meeting in Cairo is hosted by the Arab League and attended by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas along with many foreign ministers and senior officials.

Calling Jerusalem “the backbone of the Palestinian cause,” Sissi warns of dire repercussions of any Israeli move to change the status quo of the holy site, saying thos would “negatively impact” future negotiations to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He says such measures would impede the long-sought two-state solution to the conflict, which would leave “both parties and the whole Middle East with difficult and grave options.”

Sissi, whose country was the first Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, calls on the international community to “reinforce the two-state solution and create conducive conditions for the resumption of the peace process.”