DHAKA: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Cairo on Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about the latest developments in the Palestinian territories.

Abbas briefed Sisi on ‘continued Israeli violations against the Aksa Mosque in particular and Palestinians in general’, a Palestine official in Ramallah said, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Abbas urged Sisi to use his influence with international parties to pressure Israel to stop ‘provocations and assaults’ against the Aksa Mosque in wake of the current wave of violence, the official added.

Abbas is also seeking the backing of Egypt and other Arab countries for any decision taken by the Palestine leadership to suspend security, political and economic ties with Israel.

Abbas has come under intense pressure from many Palestinians, including top members of the PLO and Fatah, to cut off all ties with Israel and cancel the Oslo Accords in response to Israel’s ‘failure to meet its commitments toward the peace process’.

Abbas and Sisi also discussed the situation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing (by the Egyptian authorities).

The Egyptian army recently began flooding smuggling tunnels along the border with the Gaza Strip with seawater – a move that has resulted in the collapse of scores of tunnels, according to Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip.

Sisi stressed during the meeting that Egypt’s current security measures along the border with the Gaza Strip were being carried out in full coordination with the Palestine leadership.

BDST: 2200 HRS, Nov 08, 2015
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