Arab foreign ministers welcome US-Mideast mediation

PALESTINIAN, Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers expressed support yesterday for US-Middle East peace efforts at a Cairo meeting ahead of a White House delegation visit to the region.

Egypt’s foreign ministry had said earlier this week the three would meet to coordinate ahead of the visit by the US delegation that includes presidential adviser Jared Kushner.

Yesterday, the ministers said in a joint statement they “appreciated the American role to achieve peace” between the Israelis and Palestinians.

They “look forward to the US administration intensifying its efforts in the coming period”.

Talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been at a standstill since the failure of US mediation in the spring of 2014.

US President Donald Trump, who visited Israel and the occupied West Bank in May, has said he believes he can mediate a final peace agreement that has eluded his predecessors. – AFP, August 20, 2017.