Egypt, Jordan Stress Two-State Solution for Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Egypt's President Sisi receives Jordan's King Abdullah II in Cairo. (Petra news agency)
Egypt's President Sisi receives Jordan's King Abdullah II in Cairo. (Petra news agency)
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Egypt, Jordan Stress Two-State Solution for Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Egypt's President Sisi receives Jordan's King Abdullah II in Cairo. (Petra news agency)
Egypt's President Sisi receives Jordan's King Abdullah II in Cairo. (Petra news agency)

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II met in Cairo on Monday to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, underscoring their support for a two-state solution.

In a statement Monday, Sisi's office said the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders had agreed on "the importance of intensifying efforts" to resume peace talks.

They stressed the talks should abide by the two-state solution long accepted internationally as the basis for a solution: a "Palestinian state based on the June 1967 boundaries with East Jerusalem as its capital."

The meeting comes ahead of an expected visit to the region by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior White House advisor Jared Kushner, who is pushing a controversial peace plan rejected by the Palestinians and criticized by Jordan.

Kushner's initiative, partially unveiled at a Bahrain conference in June, dangled the prospect of pumping $50 billion-worth of investment into the stagnant Palestinian economy.

But it failed to address key Palestinian demands such as the establishment of their own independent state.

The political side of the plan has yet to be released.

Trump's administration has broken with that consensus, unilaterally recognizing the deeply contested city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel and slashing funding for the UN agency for Palestinians.

The Bahrain forum was boycotted by Palestinian Authority, while Jordan and Egypt sent low-level representatives.

The Palestinian leadership has boycotted Trump and accused him of using promises of cash to try to impose political solutions whilst ignoring Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

After meeting Sisi, the Jordanian monarch headed to Tunisia to offer condolences following the death of president Beji Caid Essebsi.



Gaza Polio Campaign Starts Well, WHO Says, Despite Israeli Strikes

Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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Gaza Polio Campaign Starts Well, WHO Says, Despite Israeli Strikes

Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 14, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it had been able to start its polio campaign in central Gaza and vaccinate tens of thousands of children despite Israeli strikes in the designated protected zone hours before.

As part of an agreement between the Israeli military and Palestinian group Hamas, humanitarian pauses in the year-long Gaza war had been due to begin early on Monday to reach hundreds of thousands of children.

However, hours before then, the UN humanitarian office said Israeli forces struck tents near al Aqsa hospital, inside in the zone, where it said four people were burned to death.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said one of its schools in the central Gazan city of Nuseirat, intended as a vaccination site, was hit overnight between Sunday and Monday, killing up to 22 people.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing that over 92,000 children, or around half of the children targeted for polio vaccines in the central area, had been inoculated on Monday.

"What we have received from colleagues is that the vaccination went without a major issue yesterday, and we hope It will continue the same way," he said.

Other humanitarian agencies have previously voiced concerns about the viability of the polio campaign in northern Gaza, where an Israeli offensive is under way.

Aid groups carried out an initial round of vaccinations last month, after a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus in August, in the first such case in the territory in 25 years.