Egypt hosts tripartite talks on Palestinian developments

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Egypt, Jordan and Palestine held talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Monday to discuss the latest Palestinian developments.

The talks brought together Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jordan’s Ayman Safadi and chairman of the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, Hussein Al-Sheikh, to discuss Israeli violations in the occupied East Bank and attacks by Israeli settlers.

“The escalation of terrorist operations by settlers is supported and protected by the Israeli government,” Al-Sheikh said in statements carried by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ahmed Al-Deek, an adviser to the Palestinian foreign minister, said the meeting also took up US efforts to build confidence between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The Gaza-Israel truce and the reconstruction of the Palestinian territory were also discussed during the meeting, he added.

Egypt mediated a cease-fire deal between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza following the last Israeli military offensive on the seaside territory in May.

In September, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on reviving the Middle East peace process, which collapsed in 2014 over Tel Aviv's refusal to stop settlement building.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar