Egypt’s key religious leaders refused to meet the US vice-president last Saturday, when he arrived in Egypt for a four-day trip to the Middle East.
Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s leading institute of learning, and Pope Tawadros II, the head of Egypt’s Coptic Church, declined talks with Mike Pence in protest at US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr Pence did meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who told him he disagreed with a decision that could complicate negotiations over a Israel-Palestine peace deal. “We heard President al-Sisi out,” Mr Pence said.
In the two days before, officials from 86 countries met at Al-Azhar in Cairo to discuss Jerusalem. Heads of Islamic and Christian organisations attended but there were no Jewish representatives.
In a message, Pope Francis said the Holy See “will not cease to urgently call for a resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians for a solution, aimed at the peaceful coexistence of two states within the agreed and internationally recognised borders, in full respect of the peculiar nature of Jerusalem, whose meaning goes beyond all … territorial issues”. The US embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before the end of 2019, Mr Pence said on Monday in Israel.
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