Palestinian, Egyptian presidents discuss Mideast peace talks

By Awad Rajoub
ANKARA (AA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Cairo on Tuesday with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The talks dwelt on the situation in the Palestinian territories and Israeli violations against the Palestinians, the state news agency Wafa reported.

Discussions also took up efforts aimed at reviving the moribund peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel, it added.

In 1993, the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel signed the Oslo Accords which gave Palestinians a form of self-rule.

Years of peace negotiations between the two sides, however, failed to achieve the Palestinian goal of establishing an independent state.

US-sponsored peace talks collapsed in 2014 over Israel’s refusal to halt settlement building and release Palestinians imprisoned before 1993.

Abbas’ visit to Cairo came a few weeks after Egypt managed to broker a cease-fire between Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and Israel that brought a three-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip to a halt.

At least 49 Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured in the onslaught, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report