Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a one-day visit Saturday, state news agency MENA reported. During their meeting at Itehadiya Palace, El-Sisi and Abbas affirmed the two state solution as the only pathway to reaching stability in the region. The meeting is part of ongoing coordination efforts between the two leaders regarding latest developments in the Palestinian case and ways to revive the peace process, according to Egyptian presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef. El-Sisi stressed Egypt's support for a just and extensive solution that guarantee the right of Palestinians to establish an independent state within the borders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as the capital. El-Sisi called for intensifying efforts towards settling the Palestinian case, referring to the importance of the US return to playing a major role in spurring negotiations between teh Palestinians and Israel. The Egyptian president concluded that the Arab Peace Initiative is the basis of any end to the Israeli Arab conflict. Abbas expressed his keenness on continuing consultations with Egyptian counterparts, acknowledging Cairo's major role in addressing the Palestinian case, referring to the importance of the meeting before Abbas visits Washington to meet US President Donald Trump. Late March, Abbas held a meeting with El-Sisi in Cairo, ahead of the latter's visit to Washington in early April, where they discussed latest developments in peace efforts across the region and ongoing developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially Israel's escalation of illegal settlement construction.
