(JTA) — Leading Egyptian presidential candidate Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said in an interview that he would not meet with an Israeli prime minister if Israel does not make concessions to the Palestinians.
Sissi, the former Egyptian military chief who resigned from the military in March in order to run for president, appeared in a joint interview with two Egyptian television stations, CBC and ONTV.
Sissi led the military coup against former president Mohammed Morsi in July. When asked if as president he would meet with Israel’s prime minister or if he would visit Israel, he said: “Let them just make us happy by giving something for the Palestinians.”
Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. Relations have been cold in recent years, mostly over the Palestinian issue.
Sissi said during the interview that Israel should agree to a Palestinian state, with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, the French news agency AFP reported. He said he will continue to uphold the peace treaty as well.
Sissi also said during the interview that he will shut down the extremist Muslim Brotherhood.
He is expected to win the May 26-27 election by a wide margin.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
