Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Sunday morning with British parliamentary delegation , called the Friends of Egypt, to discuss the final phase of Egypt's roadmap, and other regional topics. The meeting tackled developments in the Palestinian territories, where Shoukry stressed the importance of the "time element", and the risk of a third intifada (uprising) due to "provocations". The most recent of these was the incident leading to the death of a Palestinian minister, as well as the continuation of Israeli settlement expansion activity in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Palestinian Minister Ziad Abu Ein died in a confrontation between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces last week. Palestinian officials maintain he was beaten to death, while Israel says the death was due to a heart attack. Shoukry also met Sunday with US Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth to discuss recent political developments there. According to Foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdelatty, the minister met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffery Feltman Saturday to discuss developments in Libya, Syria, Iraq, the Palestinian territories, and Sudan. The meeting highlighted cooperation between Egypt and the UN, especially in the areas of international peace and security, according to Abdelatty. Shoukry also outlined ongoing preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are expected to take place before the end of March 2015. The meeting included discussions on regional topics, where Shoukry presented the Egyptian vision for political and security developments in Libya. Abdelatty added that the duo discussed the issue of terrorism in light of the threat posed by terrorist organisations, in particular the Islamic State in Syria and the Sham (ISIS), and the importance of involving all Iraqi national forces in the political process, without discrimination on sectarian, religious or ethnic bases. Addressing the situation in the Palestinian territories and the implications of the early Israeli elections on the continuation of Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Feltman expressed the UN's support for the Egyptian efforts to ease the tension between the Palestinians and Israelis. Earlier in December, Israel's parliament voted to dissolve itself and hold elections for a new parliament on 17 March 2015.
