CAIRO: The leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine accused Israel on Monday of fueling chaos and violence in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
The condemnation came at the end of a summit in the northern Egyptian city of Alamein that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The three accused Israel of a number offenses against Palestinians, including incursions by Israeli soldiers in Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and illegally withholding Palestinian money.
They rejected any attempts to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally or spatially, and they intend to continue their efforts with the main international powers and parties interested in peace to revive a serious peace process.
They also condemned the violation of the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem.
In the final communique of the meeting, the two presidents and the king said a “just and comprehensive solution” to the Palestinian cause was the key to stability in the region.
The past months have been one of the deadliest periods for years in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel’s new far-right extremist government, formed last December, has adopted a hard-line approach to the Palestinians. In January it withheld $39 million from the Palestinian Authority and transferred the funds instead to a compensation program for the families of Israeli victims of Palestinian militant attacks.
Egypt hosted Monday’s summit to discuss the Palestinian cause in light of developments in the occupied Palestinian Territory and the related regional and international conditions.
The three leaders said resolving the Palestinian issue and achieving a just and comprehensive peace was a strategic choice, a regional and international necessity, and a matter of international peace and security.
