Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated in an interview with Arab media Wednesday that he has great faith in US President Donald Trump in ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while urging Israel not to “miss the opportunity to make peace.”
When asked if there is any hope for a solution to the Palestinian issue under Trump’s leadership, al-Sisi responded that “the Palestinians are open to peace, the Arabs are open to peace and Israel believes that there is an opportunity for it. In truth, there is an opportunity, and if it is taken we could reach a solution and the conflict will become history.”
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Al-Sisi went on to describe Trump as being the decisive factor in the success or failure of any deal.
“Trump is the deciding factor in the solution (to the conflict). My estimation is that he doesn’t take much time to decide on things,” al-Sisi said, before turning his focus to Israel.
“You have a chance for peace and there’s an opportunity for us all to live together and allow a better future for our people, one without hate. It will be a grave mistake to waste that opportunity.”
The Egyptian president noted that he is optimistic ahead of the Arab-Islamic-American summit in Riyadh, where Trump is set to participate before making his way to Israel.
“When I met with Trump we focused on the fight against terrorism and in resolving the Palestinian issue. Our interests are aligned on the matter,” he said.
When he was asked how he views the relations between his country and the US after his visit to the White House and Trump’s promises to aid Cairo, al-Sisi stated that he has “a lot of trust in Trump, his capabilities, and promises. There are things we will announce and things we intend to keep to ourselves. Things are moving positively.”
Finally, al-Sisi shared his opinion on the US president, saying that Trump “is a unique and great man. When he tackles an issue, he does not accept failure and he will settle for nothing short of success.”
Egypt was the first stop in the Middle East for Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, who delivered his famous Cairo speech in which attempted to renew relations with the Muslim world and expressed, much to Israel’s dismay, his disapproval of settlements in the West Bank, thereby setting the tone for what was to become a comparably frosty US-Israel relationship.
By contrast, Trump is set to make Saudi Arabia his first destination during his upcoming Middle East visit, after which he will visit Israel. Egypt, this time, does not appear on his itinerary.
On Wednesday, al-Sisi met in the Egyptian capital with Jordan’s King Abdullah in a bid to close ranks ahead of Trump’s visit to the region.
By Ynet News
