Abbas visits Cairo, Istanbul to rally Middle East over Jerusalem

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intensified efforts to rally Middle Eastern countries against the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Monday. Talks were set up with Arab leaders, beginning in Cairo, Reuters reports. Abbas will meet President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, who has been a key broker in past peace talks with Israel and Palestinian factions. Abbas then heads for Istanbul to give a speech, his office said. “Daring Palestinian and Arab decisions are required in the coming stage,” Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told WAFA news agency. Abbas will not meet Mike Pence during the US vice president’s visit to the region later this month, according to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.