Arab-U.S.-Israeli summit on peace process to be held in July

CAIRO - 6 April 2017: An Arab-U.S.- Israeli summit is expected to be held in July to discuss the resumption of the peace process between Palestine and Israel, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Egyptian diplomats as saying Thursday.

The summit will be attended by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, U.S. President Donald Trump, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the diplomats added.

They did not mention where the summit would be held.

During his visit to Washington D.C. at an invitation from President Trump, President Sisi

held a meeting

Tuesday with King Abdullah II, who met with Trump Wednesday at the White House, according to a statement from the Egyptian Presidency.

Both Arab leaders exchanged views on various regional developments and efforts to push forward the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis, the statement continued.

Egypt and Jordan strongly support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and have emphasized their stances since Trump’s inauguration and subsequent remarks on the issue.

In February, Trump stated in a

joint press conference

with Netanyahu that he had 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.

Abbas has stated that he will meet with Trump at the White House in mid-April to work on a two-state solution.

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