Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas will meet in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh this weekend to discuss recent developments pertaining to Palestine.
According to a source close to Abbas, speaking anonymously due to the issue’s sensitivity, the two leaders will meet on the sidelines of an upcoming World Youth Forum slated to kick off Saturday in Sharm El Sheikh.
On Thursday, Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh said Abbas would arrive in Cairo on Friday afternoon -- at the head of a high-level delegation -- before meeting al-Sisi the following day in Sharm El Sheikh.
Abbas’s visit to Cairo will come only days after the Palestinian president visited to Muscat, where he held talks with Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
At their meeting in Muscat, the two leaders discussed the Palestine-Israel peace process and the recent U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Palestine-Israel talks broke down in 2014, due largely to Israel’s refusal to stop building Jewish-only settlement units on confiscated Palestinian land.
In September, Abbas had expressed his readiness to resume peace talks with Israel, either behind closed doors or in public.
On Tuesday, however, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority planned to cut relations with Israel in line with an earlier decision by the Palestinian Central Council.
Authorities in the blockaded Gaza Strip held training exercises on Thursday to prepare for potential crises, according to resistance movement Hamas, which has governed the coastal enclave since 2007.Hamas spokesman Mahmoud al-Farra told Anadolu Agency that the drills were being overseen by Gaza’s interior, education, health and social affairs ministries.The exercises, al-Farra said, were aimed at enhancing local authorities’ preparedness for unexpected emergencies, including attacks by Israeli forces.Along with preparing hospitals for sudden influxes of injured people, Thursday’s drills also involved simulated bomb threats.Israeli army rounds up 17 Palestinians in W. Bank raidsNew Egypt ambassador to Israel to assume post next weekIsrael delegation in Chad to discuss strengthening tiesIsrael approves plan for new West Bank settlement units
Gaza Strip holds drills to prepare for potential crises
The Israeli army rounded up 17 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out late Wednesday and early Thursday across the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli public radio.The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the broadcaster stated without explaining the nature of said activities.The army frequently carries out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the Israeli-occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.According to Palestinian figures, as many as 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including scores of women and hundreds of minors.New Egypt ambassador to Israel to assume post next weekIsrael delegation in Chad to discuss strengthening tiesIsrael approves plan for new West Bank settlement units
Israeli army rounds up 17 Palestinians in W. Bank raids