Egypt, US president-elect coordinate on Mideast dispute

By Mohamed Mahmoud

CAIRO (AA) – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump have agreed to give the latter’s incoming administration a chance to resolve the perennial dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.

According to a Friday statement issued by Egypt’s presidency, both men agreed in a late Thursday phone call "on the need to give the new U.S. administration a chance to assume responsibility for all aspects of the Palestine issue".

The move coincided with a decision by the UN Security Council to postpone a scheduled vote on a draft resolution calling for the "immediate halt" of Israeli settlement-building on occupied Palestinian land.

The draft resolution was initially proposed by Egypt, which is currently the only Arab country to have a temporary seat on the Security Council.

On Thursday, Trump tweeted: "The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed."

On the same day, Jamal al-Shobaki, Palestinian ambassador to Cairo, told reporters that the Palestinian leadership was keen to see the vote take place, pointing out that Egypt had requested more time for "consultations".

Diplomats at the UN say Egypt’s decision to postpone the vote was the result of "Israeli pressure on all political levels in Cairo".

According to reports in the Israeli media, the Israeli government has urged the incoming U.S. president to pressure the Barack Obama administration to veto the draft resolution if and when it is put to a vote.

Israel’s aggressive settlement-building policies were one of the main reasons behind the breakdown of peace talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in mid-2014.