Cairo Peace Summit on Gaza Conflict: Who Will Attend?

Seen on a large screen the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is greeted by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) prior to the start of the International “Summit for Peace” hosted by the Egyptian president in Cairo on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Seen on a large screen the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is greeted by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) prior to the start of the International “Summit for Peace” hosted by the Egyptian president in Cairo on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Cairo Peace Summit on Gaza Conflict: Who Will Attend?

Seen on a large screen the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is greeted by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) prior to the start of the International “Summit for Peace” hosted by the Egyptian president in Cairo on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Seen on a large screen the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is greeted by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) prior to the start of the International “Summit for Peace” hosted by the Egyptian president in Cairo on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

Egypt is hosting an international conference on Saturday to discuss the escalating war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

The list of attendees expected at the Cairo Peace Summit include:

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Jordanian King Abdullah II

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani

Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa

British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs James Cleverly

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov

China's envoy for Middle East issues Zhai Jun

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

European Council President Charles Michel

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell



Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
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Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Abbas has led both entities for two decades.