Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Abdel Fattah al-SisiReuters

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday said that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) would make the Middle East safer.

Sisi’s comments came in a meeting with a delegation of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Arab Today news website reported.

During the meeting, which was also attended by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the delegation offered condolences to the president over the victims of recent terror attacks in North Sinai, stressing support for the Egyptian people against terrorism, Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef said.

The delegation also hailed the accomplishments achieved at the security and economic levels, the spokesman said.

Sisi told the delegation that the danger of terrorism in Sinai has to be countered, warning of its repercussions not only on Egypt but on the entire region.

He also said the cycle of violence and terrorism was not restricted to the Middle East region but has expanded to other countries in Africa, according to Arab Today.

Responding to a question by the delegation about Egypt’s vision for peace efforts between Israel and the PA, the president said that settling this issue according to international terms of references and the Arab peace initiative will create a new reality and make the region safer and more stable.

International guarantees have to be provided to give hope to the Palestinian people to establish an independent state and encourage the Israeli leadership to go on with the peace route, said Sisi, according to Arab Today.

The international community has recently pressed Israel and the PA to resume peace talks that have been stalled for over a year.

The biggest push has come from France, which has so far focused with Arab states on a possible resolution that would set negotiating parameters and establish a time period, possibly 18 months, to complete talks.

Referring to the proposed French resolution, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently said the PA would only back a proposal that raises all of their demands, indicating the demand for an independent Palestinian state on the 1949 Armistice lines with the eastern part of Jerusalem as its capital, and a clear date set for the end of negotiations and implementation of PA sovereignty.

Abbas emphasized that the PA fundamentally opposes recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, reiterating his vehement rejection of the recognition that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu requested in talks.

If recognition of the Jewish state is included in the French proposal the PA will not back it, warned the PA chairman.