Sisi, Abdullah II to talk Palestine/Israel Tuesday

CAIRO - 3 April 2017: An Egyptian-Jordanian meeting will be held on Tuesday in Washington D.C. between the leaders of both countries over the Palestinian-Israeli case, an Egyptian Press delegation told Egypt Today Sunday.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is visiting Washington for five days during which King Abdullah II, who

will arrive

in Washington Tuesday, will meet with Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The delegation said the summit will tackle the two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis.

The meeting comes after concerns were stirred by Trump’s February remarks on the two-state solution. During a

joint press conference

with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump backed away from a decades-long policy of supporting a two-state solution in the Middle East; the U.S. President said he is open to either a two-state or a one-state solution.

Since then, both Sisi and King Abdullah have tried to push forward the two-state solution. On February 21, Sisi and Abdullah held a private discussion on ways of joint coordination to reach the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to another statement released by the Egyptian Presidency.

“They emphasized that these are unwavering Arab national fundamentals and come within the framework of preserving the rights of the Palestinian people and of protecting Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem and in the Palestinian territories, so as to contribute to restoring stability in the Middle East,” the statement read. Two days after the two leaders’ meeting in Cairo, Trump

told Reuters

he “likes the two-state solution” but will leave it to the Palestinian and Israelis to decide.

A week before the summit, Sisi, Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Wednesday on the sidelines of the Arab Summit in Jordan, according to a statement from Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Alaa Youssef.

“The three leaders underscored the importance of reviving the peace process in order to reach a comprehensive, just and final solution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution and the Arab peace initiative which will allow for a new reality in the region that shall provide security for all peoples and contribute to advancing efforts for economic and social development,” Youssef said in the statement.

Youssef added that Egypt and Jordan support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Commenting on Trump’s remarks, Abbas said he will work with the U.S. president toward a two-state solution. Abbas is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House in mid-April.

For more than a decade, the U.S. brokered the peace process between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, backing the two-state solution. However, in April 2014, the peace process halted when Abbas announced a unity government including Fatah and Hamas representatives.