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Palestinian President to Hold Talks with Egypt’s Sisi on Israel Next Week

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)
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Palestinian President to Hold Talks with Egypt’s Sisi on Israel Next Week

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will hold a summit with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo next week to discuss Palestine’s request to obtain full UN membership and its efforts to achieve calm in the Palestinian territories, specifically in the West Bank.

They will also tackle the future of the Palestinian Authority and the political process to achieve peace.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Malki said on Thursday Abbas will hold the summit with Sisi on September 6.

“The Palestinian President will discuss with his Egyptian counterpart the overall situation in the Palestinian territories,” Al-Malki said.

Abbas’ meeting with Sisi comes in light of a US drive in the region aimed at convincing the Authority to stop its efforts to obtain UN full membership and to advance calm in the West Bank.

Well-informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abbas wants to consult with Sisi regarding these two issues, given Egypt’s direct role in the efforts to advance a political process in the region and achieve calm in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Sisi had last month spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and requested that he work with Abbas to ease tensions in the region and take immediate steps to improve living conditions in the West Bank and economic ties with the PA.

Sources said the Palestinians and Egyptians are in agreement on supporting the PA and easing tensions in the West Bank.

These two factors are key to paving the way for reviving settlement efforts and a new peace process.

The situation in the area will be on the agenda of US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara A. Leaf, who arrived in the region on Thursday.

She kicked off an official visit that will take her to Jordan, Palestine and Israel. She will conclude the trip on September 4.

The US State Department said Leaf will be in Israel and the West Bank from September 1 to 3.

“She will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials to discuss a range of priorities, including the US ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, strengthening US cooperation with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, US interest in improving the quality of life for the Palestinian people, and the Administration’s continued support for a two-state solution,” it added.

Observers said Leaf will inform the Palestinians of Washington’s rejection of their move towards full UN membership.

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Arab World

US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.