Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call Friday from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres ahead of the latter's visit to Palestine and Israel, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement read. Guterres was keen to communicate with Shoukry ahead of his Holy Land visit to learn about Egypt's evaluation of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the statement read. Egypt recently hosted a Hamas delegation for talks with Egyptian officials on the resumption of Palestinian national reconciliation efforts, followed by a visit from Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas who discussed with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi latest efforts to revive Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Egypt has repeatedly underlined the importance of reaching a fair and comprehensive political settlement to the Palestinian issue, arguing that it would contribute to stability in the Middle East. The ministry statement also said that Guterres discussed with Shoukry latest developments in Libya as well as the Qatar crisis. Four Arab states — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt — severed diplomatic relations with Qatar 5 June, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran, charges Doha has denied. A number of other Arab and Muslim countries followed suit.
