Egypt is key to ongoing talks on Gaza crisis says Abbas

Following a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a presser on Saturday, in which he said Egypt is key to ongoing negotiations on the crisis in Gaza.

During the Cairo presser Abbas emphasized, “What is important to us now is to halt the bloody operations the Israeli occupational forces are committing,” according to privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Abbas said that the Egyptian cease-fire initiative presented in July is crucial to ongoing negotiations and “no one can take Egypt out of the equation.”

Following his meeting with Hamas’ leader Khaled Meshaal in Doha, Abbas claimed that, despite the “sensitivities,” Hamas “does not mind Egypt being the mediator in negotiations,” in reference to the strained relationship between Hamas and Egypt following the deposition of former President Mohamed Morsi last year and the crackdown that followed on Muslim Brotherhood members.

Hamas had previously rejected the Egyptian initiative, claiming that not enough concessions were offered from the Israelis. 

Israel resumed its attack on Gaza after the recent cease-fire lapsed.

Abbas said Egypt would invite all Palestinian factions to resume negotiations on Sunday.

“A few days ago, we were in Jordan and Qatar to formulate an Arab solution to present to the Americans,” Abbas said, claiming that he would present options to the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Nabil al-Araby shortly.

The Israeli aggression on Gaza, ongoing since June 27, has resulted in the deaths of more than 2100 people.