Egypt’s foreign minister meets Netanyahu in Jerusalem

Standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry voiced support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and vowed to support peace negotiations.

“The vision of the two-state solution is not far-fetched. A multitude of ideas and initiatives have been proposed to make it a practical reality, particularly the Arab peace initiative,” Shoukry said.

Shoukry’s visit to Israel, the first such visit by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years, comes amid increasingly cordial relations between the two countries. While popular sentiment in Egypt remains hostile to Israel, the two governments have recently moved closer following a chill in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

In September 2015, the Israeli Embassy in Cairo reopened after a four-year closure prompted by demonstrators surrounding and breaking into the embassy building in Giza. In January 2016, Egypt sent an ambassador to Tel Aviv for the first time since 2012, when then-President Mohamed Morsi withdrew his ambassador in reaction to an Israeli offensive on Gaza.

According to Shoukry, the agenda for his visit includes the “prospects of peace” between Israel and Palestine, as well “as a number of political issues pertaining to bilateral relations.”

“I am confident that this will be a fruitful discussion of mutual benefit,” Shoukry said.

Shoukry’s visit follows a May speech in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Palestinians and Israelis to seek reconciliation, and said Egypt is willing to play a part in reaching a resolution.

“I would like to assure that Egypt’s commitment to supporting a just, comprehensive and sustainable resolution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, to supporting peace and security in the Middle East, is a steadfast and unwavering commitment, and that the Egyptian leadership is serious in its determination to provide all possible forms of support in order to achieve this noble goal,” Shoukry said.

Shoukry, who on June 29 met with the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, said the plight of the Palestinian people was becoming “more arduous every day,” while the “dream of peace and security moves further out of the Israeli people’s reach.”

“It is no longer acceptable to claim that the status quo is the most that we can achieve of the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. The current state of affairs unfortunately is neither stable nor sustainable,” Shoukry added.

Netanyahu said he welcomes Sisi’s offer to lead efforts to “advance peace for Palestinians and a broader peace for our region.” Netanyahu also described Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty as a “cornerstone” of regional stability, and called on Palestinians to follow Egypt’s “courageous” example by entering direct negotiations with Israel.