CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday urged Israel’s new hard-line government to refrain from “any measures” that could inflame regional tensions, in a phone call congratulating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his return to office.
The leaders spoke days after Netanyahu’s new Cabinet was sworn in, promising in its coalition guidelines to make settlement construction in the occupied West Bank a top priority.
According to a statement from the Egyptian leader’s office, El-Sisi stressed “the necessity of avoiding any measures that could lead to a tense situation and complicate the regional scene.”
El-Sisi also said his government would continue its efforts to “maintain calm” between Israel and the Palestinians, the statement added.
Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders discussed Egyptian-Israel ties and stressed on “the importance of promoting peace, stability and security for the sake of both peoples and for all peoples in the Middle East.”
Netanyahu returned to power Thursday for an unprecedented sixth term as Israel’s premier, taking the helm of the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in the country’s 74-year history.
Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank could increase already worsening tensions between Israel and the Palestinians and upset the international community. Most of the world considers settlements built on territories sought by the Palestinians to be illegal and obstacles to peace.
Egypt and Israel reached a historic peace accord in 1979. Relations have generally been cool between the countries, though behind-the-scenes security cooperation remains strong. There have been growing signs of overall cooperation in recent years.
In 2021, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with El-Sisi in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, in the first official visit to Egypt by an Israeli prime minister in over a decade.
The two Middle Eastern countries also signed a deal with the EU in June to increase liquified natural gas sales to European countries that aims to reduce their dependence on supplies from Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
Egypt has also for years served as a key mediator between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 — most recently an 11-day conflict in May. Egypt has been working quietly to arrange a long-term truce.
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Egypt’s leader urges caution for Netanyahu’s new government
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Egypt’s leader urges caution for Netanyahu’s new government
- El-Sisi stressed “the necessity of avoiding any measures that could lead to a tense situation and complicate the regional scene”
Palestinian coach gets hope, advice from mum in Gaza tent
DOHA: Coach Ehab Abu Jazar is guiding a national team that carries on its shoulders all the hopes and sorrows of Palestinian football, but it is his mother, forced by war to live in a Gaza tent, who is his main inspiration and motivation.
The war that broke out following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 put an end to Palestinian league matches, and left athletes in exile fearing for their loved ones in Gaza.
But Abu Jazar’s mother refuses to let the conflict overshadow the sporting dreams of her son, to whom she feeds tactical advice from the rubble of the Palestinian territory by phone.
“She talks to me about nothing but the team. She wants the focus to remain solely on the tournament,” the 45-year-old manager told AFP.
“My mother asks me about the players, who will play as starters and who will be absent, about the tactics, the morale of the players and the circumstances surrounding them.”
The manager, himself a former left-back, says he wants his players to convey the spirit of his mother and Gazans like her.
“We always say that we are a small Palestinian family representing the larger family,” he said.
“Undoubtedly, it puts pressure on us, but it’s positive pressure.”
The Palestinian team are 96th in the FIFA rankings, and their hope of playing in their first World Cup vanished this summer.
But the squad, most of whom have never set foot in Gaza, is within reach of the Arab Cup quarter-finals, keeping their message of resilience alive.
Palestine play Syria in their final Arab Cup group match Sunday, where a draw would be enough to achieve an unprecedented feat for the team.
He said progress would show the world that the Palestinians, if given the right conditions, can “excel in all fields.”
- ‘Genes of resilience’ -
Abu Jazar finished his playing career in 2017 before managing the Palestinian U-23 team and eventually taking the top job last year.
After the war broke out, his family home was destroyed, displacing his mother in Gaza, like most of the territory’s population during the height of the conflict.
He now feels pressure to deliver for them after witnessing from exile the horrors of the war, which came to a halt in October thanks to a fragile US-backed ceasefire.
“At one point, it was a burden, especially at the beginning of the war,” he said.
“We couldn’t comprehend what was happening. But we possess the genes of resilience.
“If we surrender and give in to these matters, we as a people will vanish.”
In her maternal advisory role, Abu Jazar’s mum, who goes by the traditional nickname Umm Ehab, is only contactable when she has power and signal.
But she works around the clock to find a way to watch the team’s matches from Al-Mawasi camp.
“My mother and siblings... struggle greatly to watch our matches on television. They think about how to manage the generator and buy fuel to run it and connect it to the TV,” he said.
This determination is pushing him to give Gazans any respite from the reality of war.
“This is what keeps us standing, and gives us the motivation to bring joy to our people,” he said.
“All these circumstances push us to fight on the field until the last breath.”
The war that broke out following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 put an end to Palestinian league matches, and left athletes in exile fearing for their loved ones in Gaza.
But Abu Jazar’s mother refuses to let the conflict overshadow the sporting dreams of her son, to whom she feeds tactical advice from the rubble of the Palestinian territory by phone.
“She talks to me about nothing but the team. She wants the focus to remain solely on the tournament,” the 45-year-old manager told AFP.
“My mother asks me about the players, who will play as starters and who will be absent, about the tactics, the morale of the players and the circumstances surrounding them.”
The manager, himself a former left-back, says he wants his players to convey the spirit of his mother and Gazans like her.
“We always say that we are a small Palestinian family representing the larger family,” he said.
“Undoubtedly, it puts pressure on us, but it’s positive pressure.”
The Palestinian team are 96th in the FIFA rankings, and their hope of playing in their first World Cup vanished this summer.
But the squad, most of whom have never set foot in Gaza, is within reach of the Arab Cup quarter-finals, keeping their message of resilience alive.
Palestine play Syria in their final Arab Cup group match Sunday, where a draw would be enough to achieve an unprecedented feat for the team.
He said progress would show the world that the Palestinians, if given the right conditions, can “excel in all fields.”
- ‘Genes of resilience’ -
Abu Jazar finished his playing career in 2017 before managing the Palestinian U-23 team and eventually taking the top job last year.
After the war broke out, his family home was destroyed, displacing his mother in Gaza, like most of the territory’s population during the height of the conflict.
He now feels pressure to deliver for them after witnessing from exile the horrors of the war, which came to a halt in October thanks to a fragile US-backed ceasefire.
“At one point, it was a burden, especially at the beginning of the war,” he said.
“We couldn’t comprehend what was happening. But we possess the genes of resilience.
“If we surrender and give in to these matters, we as a people will vanish.”
In her maternal advisory role, Abu Jazar’s mum, who goes by the traditional nickname Umm Ehab, is only contactable when she has power and signal.
But she works around the clock to find a way to watch the team’s matches from Al-Mawasi camp.
“My mother and siblings... struggle greatly to watch our matches on television. They think about how to manage the generator and buy fuel to run it and connect it to the TV,” he said.
This determination is pushing him to give Gazans any respite from the reality of war.
“This is what keeps us standing, and gives us the motivation to bring joy to our people,” he said.
“All these circumstances push us to fight on the field until the last breath.”
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