Egypt, Jordan, PA condemn Israel, demand halt to 'all settlement activity' at trilateral summit
Summit takes place as talks increase about possibility of a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia
At a trilateral summit in Egypt's coastal New Al Alamein city on Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el- Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel for “escalating illegal practices” against Palestinians.
The Arab leaders issued a joint statement calling to halt all building activity in the West Bank, known as the biblical areas of Judea and Samaria.
“The three leaders ... emphasized the importance of Israel halting all settlement activity, confiscating Palestinian land and the eviction of Palestinians from their homes and changing the nature and identity of Jerusalem,” read the joint statement.
Both Egypt and Jordan stressed their full support of Abbas and called for the finding of “a suitable solution to the Palestinian cause and achieving a just and comprehensive peace” as a “strategic option and a regional and international requirement.”
Ahmed Fahmy, a spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency, said in a later statement that the three leaders expressed their support for a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the future Palestinian capital.
Prior to the trilateral meeting, King Abdullah and Sisi agreed to provide full support to “the brothers in Palestine, and work to revive the peace process,” according to Arab News.
The trilateral summit took place as talks have increased regarding the possibility of a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The statement by the three top leaders from Egypt, Jordan and the PA did not directly mention the possibility of Israeli-Saudi normalization but stressed their “adherence” to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, according to the Times of Israel.
The Arab initiative insists that Arab states will only normalize relations with the Jewish state after Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 lines and establishes a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, however, normalized diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 2020 as a part of the historic Abraham Accords.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
