Egypt Calls for Halting Any Measures Targeting Jerusalem’s Identity

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in Cairo on Sunday, May 29, 2022. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in Cairo on Sunday, May 29, 2022. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Calls for Halting Any Measures Targeting Jerusalem’s Identity

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in Cairo on Sunday, May 29, 2022. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in Cairo on Sunday, May 29, 2022. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with the Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in the Ministry’s headquarters in Cairo on Sunday.

Shoukry underscored the importance of halting all measures and actions that target the Arab Islamic and Christian identity of Jerusalem and its sanctities, and aim at changing the historical and legal status quo of the city.

The FM warned that the escalation affects the stability of the Palestinian territories.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ambassador Ahmed Hafez said Rajoub briefed Shoukry on the challenges facing Palestinians and the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as the violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in Jerusalem.

According to Hafez, Shoukry reiterated that the continued expansion of settlement activity, whether through building new settlements or expanding existing ones, the confiscation of lands and the displacement of Palestinians undermine the chances of reaching a two-state solution and the prospect for establishing a comprehensive and just peace in the region.

The FM further confirmed Egypt’s firm position on supporting the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

He underlined the need to hold talks to revive the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and reach a political solution that would end the Israeli occupation of Palestine along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Rajoub hailed Cairo’s supportive stance for the Palestinian cause and valued efforts to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation and help Palestinians address the various challenges.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.