Palestinian President Abbas heads to Cairo for Sisi meeting

Palestinian President Abbas heads to Cairo for Sisi meeting
President Mahmoud Abbas will be heading to Cairo for a meeting on Monday with Egypt's Sisi, before he heads to New York later to address the UN General Assembly.
2 min read
10 September, 2015
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo [Anadolu/Getty]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be travelling to Cairo to meet with Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday morning.

A member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Ahmad al-Majdalani told al-Araby al-Jadeed that the aim of the visit is to consult with and inform the Egyptian leader about the current Palestinian developments, including his speech at the end of this month before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"The meeting will discuss the current developments concerning the postponing of the meeting of the Palestinian National Council, as well as the continued Israeli escalation," Majdalini added.

Saleh Rafat, another Executive Committee member, told al-Araby: "The Provisional Leadership Framework of the PLO meeting in Cairo is on the agenda of the talks between President Abbas and President Sisi."

Abbas' diplomatic advisor, Majdi al-Khalidi, told the official Palestinian radio station: "Today's meeting will not specifically discuss the reconciliation file and the meeting of Palestinian factions in Cairo, but these matters will be discussed in the context of a broader strategy to resolve the Palestinian issue."

Khalidi said that the visit comes as part of the "natural and continuous coordination between the two leaderships."

Concerning the meeting agenda, Khalidi said: "First, the coordination for the visit of the president, Abu Mazen (Abbas), to the United Nations, at the end of this month, as well as the latest events in the Palestinian territories including the rise in settlements crimes, the continuation of the settlements process, and the frozen political process."

"There are many events that require political coordination, to think of what could be done during and after the General Assembly [meeting], as well as discussing what is going on in the Arab League as a meeting between Arab foreign ministers will be held in the coming days and it is necessary to make consultations around it," Khalidi clarified.