Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine's leaders on Thursday held a trilateral summit in Cairo where they emphasised the importance of unifying all partners' efforts to revive the long-frozen peace process between Palestine and Israel. Earlier on Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace. The three leaders called for resuming negotiations in accordance with internationally legitimate resolutions, highlighting the "grave" consequences on the security and stability of the entire region if the Palestinian issue is kept unsolved, according to a statement by the Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady. The summit, which started with a closed-door session followed by a meeting of the delegations of the three countries, aimed to coordinate and unify positions and visions about a number of issue related to the Palestinian cause. The summit comes days after confrontations between the Palestinians and Israeli authorities renewed for the first time since the 11-day aggression on Gaza strip in May. "The Palestinian cause represents a real basis for the stability of the region and is a priority for all Arab peoples, taking into account the recent developments, particularly regarding the peace process and ways to stabilise the truce following the escalation in the Palestinian territories last May," Rady added. In late May, Egypt mediated a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian factions to end an 11-day military operation in the Gaza Strip, which claimed over 250 Palestinian lives and injured hundreds. Egypt and Jordan affirm support to Palestine The three-way summit witnessed a discussion of the latest developments in the Palestinian territories as well as the developments at the regional and international levels, the spokesman added, noting that the discussions reflected convergence between Egypt, Jordan and Palestine on all issues. The summit also affirmed the "firm" positions of Egypt and Jordan in supporting the Palestine state and President Abbas against any measures that would compromise the constants of the Palestinian cause or cause any unilateral change on the ground that would affect the right of the Palestinian people to obtain their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, Rady added. Egypt and Jordan have been in talks with regional and international sides to resume talks between the Palestinian and Israeli sides in accordance with the international resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution with the aim of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as its capital. During the summit, Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the importance of achieving all the Palestinian people's legitimate rights, hopes and aspirations. El-Sisi reviewed Egypt's vision of how to revive the peace process and consolidate the de-escalation in the Gaza Strip as well as the reconstruction of the enclave. He also stressed that realising the aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent state would only come through unifying the division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. King Abdullah II and President Abbas expressed their appreciation for President El-Sisi for holding the summit, especially following the latest incidents, noting that the summit represents an opportunity for exchanging views on ways to push the peace process forward and bring the Palestinian issue back on top of the international community's priorities. Both leaders also praised Egyptian efforts towards the Palestinian cause, the latest of which is the implementation of the ceasefire and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip to alleviate the severity of the situation.
