Egypt’s leader says country in ‘ferocious war’

Sisi’s statements were made in an interview with The Associated Press during his visit to New York as head of the Egyptian delegation at the 70th UN General Assembly meeting.

Further on in his speech, Sissi said, “It is incumbent on me, as the president of Egypt, which stands at the heart of this confrontation, to forewarn of the dangers of expansion of this threat to other crises and regions, at the forefront of which is Palestine”.

The AP interview quoted Sissi as saying that “efforts should be renewed to solve the Palestinian issue and expand Egypt’s almost 40-year-peace with Israel to include more Arab countries”.

In a presidential statement released yesterday, Al-Sisi said the measures taken by Egypt aim to secure its eastern border and will not harm Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“Let it suffice to look at the map and find countries that are suffering from failure”, Sisi said.

Egypt has been battling an insurgency in the Sinai by extremist groups that have pledged allegiance to Islamic State. “I’m optimistic by nature and I say that there is a great opportunity”. There is the problem of the refugees that are flowing into Europe.

“We have all witnessed Libya’s descent along a downward spiral when the forces of extremism announced their presence through actions that contradict the principles of Islam and humanity”, he said, citing the slaughter of Egyptians in Libya earlier this year.

Jim Yong Kim said that the World Bank understands Egypt’s need to accelerate economic development, and expressed support for the reforms adopted by the Egyptian government. “The real problem is between the Egyptian people and the Muslim Brotherhood” which has given “a very bad impression” and Egyptians “are not able to forgive and forget”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is pushing for immediate peace talks without preconditions, praised Sisi’s comments and called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “to return immediately to the negotiating table to advance the diplomatic process”.