Egyptian President Calls for New Israeli-Palestinian Peace Initiative

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Israel and the Palestinians to seize what he called a “realistic” and “great” opportunity to reach a peace deal after decades of conflict. His comments came as opposition leader Isaac Herzog is holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on forming a “unity” government, a move that some in his party strongly oppose. The Israeli press was rife with speculation that Sisi’s remarks had been coordinated with Israel and were a way of bringing the center-left Labor party into the governing coalition. Herzog has said he would join only if he could be responsible for the peace process. The Israeli press reported that if the coalition deal goes through, Netanyahu and Herzog could travel together to Egypt to launch a new peace initiative. Sisi said that the Israeli-Egyptian peace deal of 1979 could serve as a model for the Israelis and Palestinians. He said that there was a lot of animosity between Egypt and Israel before that deal. He said that Egypt would “make every effort” to contribute to an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and promised “warmer” relations with Israel if there is progress on a new truce. Shortly after the speech, Netanyahu said he welcomed Sisi’s remarks and said “Israel is ready to participate with Egypt and other Arab states to advance a future of peace and security between us and the Palestinians and the people of the region.” Sisi also said he supports a French initiative for a Middle East peace conference. A meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for the end of the month has been delayed to the summer, but French officials say they are determined to go ahead with the plan.