The Israeli government welcomed Sunday Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's call for other countries in the Middle East to make peace with Israel.
"The Government of Israel welcomes Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi's call to expand the peace with Israel to include additional Arab countries," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office read.
In a comprehensive interview with Associated Press published Saturday night, Sisi called on regional states to unite to fight terrorism, warning they faced "sliding into failure" if the Islamic State terror group were not defeated,
The Egyptian President then urged countries in the region to renew efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a two-state solution.
In its response, Israel reiterated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's willingness to enter into negotiations with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas any time without preconditions.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu again calls on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to return immediately to the negotiating table in order to advance the diplomatic process," it said.
Earlier Sunday reports claimed Abbas told diplomats that attempts by Netanyahu to reach out to him were halted by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who asked the PA leader to 'wait a few weeks' before meeting with Netanyahu to revive peace talks, apparently due to the White House's insistence it play a lead role in talks.
The US State Dept. has vehemently denied that report.