Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the state's firm stance in support of the Palestinian cause. Shoukr'y s statement came during his meeting on Wednesday with United Nations' (UN) Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland During their meeting in Cairo, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry, Shoukry and Tor Wennesland discussed ways to advance the peace process. Since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, Jerusalem has been witnessing an Israeli crackdown on Palestinians who are protesting against provactive security mesaures in the city as well as violent attacks by extremist Jewish groups who chant death to the Arabs under the protection of the Israeli police. The tensions in Jerusalem led to Palestinian protests in the Gaza Strip and the launching of rockets towards Israel. On Monday, Shoukry and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi condemned the violent actions and incitement made by extremist groups against Palestinians, calling on Israel to "stop all attacks and provocative measures" in Jerusalem to restore calm and end tensions that left scores of Palestinians wounded. Two days earlier, Egypt urged the Israeli authorities to bear their responsibility and halt their ongoing violations that target the Arab, Islamic, and Christian identity of the Old City in occupied Jerusalem and its sacred sites, as well as attempts to change the historic and legal status of the city. On the same day, 24 April, Wennesland said he was alarmed by the recent escalations, stressing that the provocative acts across Jerusalem "must cease". "The indiscriminate launching of rockets towards Israeli population centers violates international law and must stop immediately," the Norwegian diplomat, who was appointed in the post in December, said in a statement. Egypt supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital alongside Israel as a necessary condition to achieve a just solution to the Palestinian issue. Cairo is also working through the Munich Quartet - which includes Egypt, France, Germany, and Jordan - to find means to jump start peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.
