Egypt will host an Egyptian-Jordanian-Palestinian tripartite summit in the new city of El-Alamein to discuss coordinating positions on the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and ways to revive the peace process.
A statement from the Palestinian embassy in Cairo, of which Asharq Al-Awsat received a copy, stated that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would arrive in Egypt Sunday on an official visit upon an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to participate in the summit.
The meeting will bring together Sisi, Abbas, and King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss various issues at the Arab, regional, and international levels and to unify visions among the three leaders.
Palestine's Ambassador to Egypt, Diab al-Louh, said the President's visit comes within the framework of the ongoing cooperation with Sisi and aims to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and various issues at the Arab, regional, and international levels.
He added that the meeting discussed the challenges facing the efforts of the Palestinian people to obtain their inalienable rights, achieve the right to self-determination, and establish their independent state with full national sovereignty on all the lands of the State of Palestine, occupied since 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital.
In the statement, the Palestinian ambassador thanked Egypt and its leadership for hosting the summit, appreciating the efforts to support the Palestinian people and their just cause.
He also lauded Jordan's relentless efforts under King Abdullah II's leadership in defense of Jerusalem and its sanctities.
Last July, the new city of el-Alamein hosted a meeting of the general secretaries of the Palestinian factions, chaired by the Palestinian President, to discuss ways to restore national unity and end the division.
In mid-January, Cairo hosted a tripartite summit between Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine leaders.
The summit's closing statement stressed the need to preserve legitimate Palestinian rights and continue their joint efforts to achieve comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on the two-state solution.
During their summit in Cairo, the leaders stressed the need for the international community to protect the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights and join efforts to find a genuine political horizon that will re-launch serious and effective negotiations to resolve the Palestinian issue.
They stressed the need to stop all Israeli unilateral and illegitimate measures that undermine the two-state solution and the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace, including settlement activity, the confiscation of Palestinian lands, the demolition of homes, and the displacement of Palestinians, the ongoing Israeli incursions into Palestinian cities, and the violation of the historical and legal situation in Jerusalem and its sanctities.
The Palestinian professor of political science and international relations, Osama Shaath, said that the tripartite summit comes within the framework of continued intensive consultation and coordination between the three leaders.
Shaath explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that there had been many developments in the Palestinian scene regarding internal reconciliation and the latest developments regarding the conflict with the Israeli occupation.
The expert believed the occupation government is working to Judaize as much of the occupied Palestinian land as possible, taking advantage of the international inaction and preoccupation with other issues.
He noted that the summit is expected to discuss these developments to work and coordinate efforts among Arab countries and international partners to revive the political settlement process based on the two-state solution.
He explained that international and regional developments, which he described as "important and cannot be ignored," including the Arab openness to China and Russia, recent Arab and regional reconciliations, and European and US crises.
Shaath asserted the need to invest in the current moment in a way that serves the Palestinian cause and common Arab interests, significantly ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting next month.
