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Al-Sisi and Abbas to discuss humanitarian conditions of occupied lands The talks come prior to the Arab League's summit, planned to take place in Jordan by the end of March
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in Egypt on Sunday on an official visit that comes following an invitation from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The visit also comes for the presidents to discuss bilateral relations between them, prior to the Arab League's summit, which is planned to take place in Jordan at the end of March. According to a statement issued by Egyptian presidency official spokesperson Alaa Youssef, the visit will include discussions on the humanitarian, economic, and security conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories. Moreover, the statement said that both presidents will discuss plans to pursue talks on the peace process between Palestine and Israel. Egypt is currently communicating with regional and international entities for the sake of continuing talks on the peace process, and it is encouraging Israel and Palestine to resort to negotiations. In the same context, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry asserted during a press conference on Thursday with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman El Safdai, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be the most imperative issue discussed at the upcoming Arab League summit. In the broadcasted press conference, Shoukry asserted that Egypt and Jordan will support Palestine until it reaches the two-state solution, in addition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. To Egyptian diplomacy, Palestine is an important topic of discussion. Last month, the Israeli parliament passed a bill that retroactively legalises almost 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The bill grants the original inhabitants of those lands financial compensation or alternative land. The decision was condemned by Egypt, describing it as hindering the peace situation in the Middle East. Abbas considered the bill to be an aggression against his country. A number of countries, as well as the European Union, condemned the bill. Another statement that stirred controversy was that of Israeli deputy minister Ayoob Kara, who claimed that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Donald Trump are to discuss a plan to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, away from the West Bank. The statements were also condemned by the Egyptian and Palestinian authorities, both of which denied such agreements, describing them as "silly".
