France, Egypt push two-state solution conference
Egypt is contemplating its own initiative in order to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a two-state solution in coordination with the French Foreign Ministry’s initiative.
The pragmatic Arab countries are today mainly preoccupied with the rise in power and influence of Islamic fundamentalist movements, primarily the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda. That focus has shifted the governments' attention away from the Palestinian issue. The only exception is Egypt and its leader, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
In his Sept. 28 UN speech, Sisi said the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital “will effectively eliminate one of the most important factors contributing to the region's instability and one of the most dangerous pretexts used to justify extremism and terrorism.”
