The spokesperson for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced on Monday August 14, that the Palestinian and Jordanian leaders were warmly received in Egypt. During their meeting, they engaged in discussions, which included the topic of speculation regarding Saudi Arabia’s potential move towards normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.
Egypt’s president on Monday welcomed the Palestinian and Jordanian leaders, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s spokesman said, with a source adding they discussed speculations over Saudi Arabia moving to normalize ties with Israel.
Sisi met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the northern coastal city of El Alamein, Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said.
During a tripartite meeting, the leaders discussed “the development of the Palestinian cause” and expressed their support for a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with east Jerusalem as the future Palestinian capital, Fahmy said in a later statement.
But while there was no mention of the topic of potential Israeli-Saudi normalization in the official statement, a Palestinian source close to the matter told media sources that it was the key topic on the table.
The summit was held “to discuss US efforts to achieve normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the Palestinian Authority’s requirements in the framework of the signing of such a deal”, the source said.
There has been much speculation in the media, particularly in recent weeks, that Saudi Arabia would follow suit, but such a deal has yet to materialize.
Riyadh on Saturday named for the first time a non-resident ambassador for the Palestinian Territories who will also serve as consul general in Jerusalem.
The file for the Palestinian Territories has traditionally been handled by the Saudi embassy in Amman.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
