Biden Spoke With Egypt's Sisi About Contributing to End Mideast Conflict - White House

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2021) US President Joe Biden spoke with his Egypt counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over the telephone about the vital role Egypt and other countries in the middle East can have to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a press briefing on Thursday.

"I can confirm they had a call, and just to remind you part of that engagement is a reflection of what we've been talking about a bit in this briefing room - was the important role that a number of countries in the region can play, including the Egyptians, in bringing an end to the conflict," Psaki said. "They have an important role to play in influencing Hamas. Hence the president had a conversation with him this morning."

The White House revealed in a release that Biden and al-Sisi discussed efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire between the warring sides.

"They agreed that their teams would stay in constant communication toward that end and the two leaders would stay closely in touch," Psaki added.

On late Tuesday, Israeli television reported that Egypt had proposed a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militants starting on Thursday and Hamas had already accepted the initiative. However, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau Izzet Rishiq refuted the reports about its consent to establish a ceasefire with Israel.

The current episode of the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out last week after the civil unrest in East Jerusalem, prompting hostilities on the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian militants having launched approximately 3,700 rockets against Israel, which retaliates with airstrikes. The sides have been firing rockets at each other ever since, leaving 217 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead.