Egypt is doing all it can to see a just and permanent resolution to the Palestinian issue based on the two state solution, the Egyptian Presidency said on Sunday. "Egypt supports the right of Palestinians to have an independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," presidency spokesman Youssef said in a statement. The Egyptian presidency's statement came hours after Israeli newspaper Haartez reported about a secret meeting in Jordan between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and senior U.S. officials to discuss the future of a possible Palestinian state. Alluding to the report, Youssef said it included false information, without elaborating further. "Egypt's historical stance regarding Palestine does not go in line with the false information circulated in the media," he added. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry launched his final peacemaking bid after U.S.-backed talks between the two sides collapsed in 2014 over issues that included Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories and Palestinian refusal to accept Israel's demand to recognise it as a Jewish state. Prospects for a new peace push appear dim with Netanyahu in a political tight spot at home and under police investigation for alleged abuse of office, which he denies. Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have been emboldened by a suggestion by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was open to new ways to achieve peace that did not necessarily entail the creation of a Palestinian state, a benchmark of U.S. policy for decades. Source: Ahram online
