President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt has urged Palestinians to overcome their differences with Israelis and be ready to co-exist in peace and security, in his address to the United Nations.
“I tell the Palestinian people it’s extremely important to overcome the differences and not to lose opportunities and to be ready to accept co-existence with the other, with Israelis in safety and security”, President al-Sisi told the 72nd annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York on Wednesday.
Egypt has been recently leading “mediation efforts” between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas Movements as part of a push to achieve national reconciliation.
President al-Sisi called on Israelis “overcome the barrier of hatred forever.”
He added: “We have an excellent experience in Egypt in peace with you for longer than 40 years.
“We can repeat this experience, this excellent step once again, together with the peace and security of the Palestinian citizens.”
On Tuesday, President al-Sisi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in New York to discuss the Middle East peace process.
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The Egyptian president sounded optimistic during the meeting about “US President Donald Trump’s efforts to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal” and said that he was interested in helping him.
Al-Sisi said the best way to advance the peace process was through a regional approach involving the Arab states.
Netanyahu’s office also issued a statement saying the discussions were “comprehensive” and dealt with the “problems in the region.”
Israel and Egypt signed a 1979 treaty that began with overtures toward peace in 1977.
