Among the push for normalization, Egypt, Jordan, PA say that only 2 states will resolve conflict

Egypt’s foreign ministers, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority met in Cairo on Saturday, reaffirming that the resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be based on the two-state solution.

“Our overriding goal is to reach a proper solution to the Palestinian issue in line with international decisions,” Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukri said in a statement at Jordan’s Ayman al-Safadi meeting and Riyad al-Malki from the Palestinian Authority.

Discussing developments in the sector, the three agreed to seek cooperation with the incoming U.S. administration to find regional solutions. They said they hoped US President Joe Biden would change course from President Donald Trump’s outgoing policies, and under that guise American-Palestinian friendship reached nadir .

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Malki said: “The signals we received from President Biden about the Palestinian issue as a message reaffirm his commitment to all the agreements signed between us.

“We are ready to cooperate with the new American administration, and we expect it to renew its relationship with the state of Palestine,” he said.

He called on the international community to press Israel to halt the expansion of settlement and adhere to previous agreements.

Safadi said the Palestinian case remained “the first major issue for the Arabs,” saying that “peace is a strategic choice” for the sides.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will deliver his speech at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency conference for the Palestinian Refugees in the Southeast (UNRWA), in Rome, March 15, 2018. (AP Photo / Andrew Medichini )

And he warned that Israeli settlement expansion policies “weaken efforts for a complete solution, among the stalemate in the compromise process.”

The meeting came as Palestinians have seen cracks in Arab ties with their cause, with four major Arab countries agreeing to normalize their relations with Israel.

The Arab world had previously been in a position where no friendship would be formed with Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved.

But amid an intense diplomatic campaign by the Trump administration, a few months ago it was announced that there are full ties between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

Earlier this month Israeli television reported that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi had told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he intended to hold peace talks. way between Israel and the Palestinians.

During their meeting in Cairo, Sissi and Abbas agreed that the Egyptian president would separately invite Israeli and PA foreign ministers to Egypt for talks on renewing talks, the report said without funding.

They said the talks would be held under the auspices of Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany.

Abbas said while he supports the Egyptian campaign, he still intends to push for an international conference that will include the Middle East Quarter (US, UN, EU and Russia) and has reached out to the Secretary-General of the DA Antonio. Guterres on the case.

Abbas met with Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II after resuming coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, after nearly six months in which Ramallah publicly separated all ties between the two parties regarding Israel’s plans to enforce parts of the West Bank. A PA president cannot travel without permission from the Israeli authorities.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz will visit the Israeli-Lebanon border on November 17, 2020. (David Cohen / Flash90)

While that linked plan was launched in August as part of the normalization according to the United Arab Emiratos, coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel did not begin until November.

In early December, Defense Minister Benny Gantz urged the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.

“The whole Middle East is changing, and major regional processes are moving forward, including [Israel’s] normalization agreements with Arab countries, which help… develop the region ‘s economy and its sustainability, ”he said.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met Safadi at the Allenby Bridge Border Crossing on December 3, the first meeting between the two, and the first time in years that the two countries’ top diplomats have officially sat down.

A statement released by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said Safadi and Ashkenazi were debating “a number of upcoming concerns, including water rights, lifting restrictions on Jordanian exports to the West Bank, electricity supply Jordanian to the Palestinian Authority, and organizes a cross-border movement. as a result of closure due to coronavirus pandemic. “

Safadi’s office also stressed the need for the resumption of bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians as a result of PA’s recent decision to resume security coordination with Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry closed the meeting, but declined to provide further information.

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