Egypt, UAE, Jordan discuss Israel’s Al-Aqsa assaults and Ukraine war influence at unplanned Cairo meeting

Jordan, Egypt, and UAE leaders discussed calming tensions in occupied East Jerusalem and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during an impromptu meeting in Cairo on Sunday.

Jordan’s King Abdullah, UAE de-facto leader Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met for trilateral talks on Sunday to discuss restoring calm at Al-Aqsa Mosque with all three countries having strong ties to Israel.

It comes following outrage over repeated Israeli attacks on Palestinian worshippers at the Muslim holy site, leaving dozens injured. All three countries have diplomatic ties with Israel and have close political and security arrangements.

The UAE is a firm regional ally of Israel, Egypt was the first Arab country to normalize ties with Israel, and Jordan has custodianship of Al-Aqsa, as well as other Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.

“The three countries will work to restore calm in Jerusalem, and stop all forms of escalation to enable worshippers to perform their religious rites without hindrances or harassment,” Jordan’s royal court said in a statement.

Late last week, two UAE airlines, Etihad and Wiz Air Abu Dhabi, pulled out of an air show marking Israel’s ‘Independence Day’ following regional outrage regarding the attacks on Palestinian worshippers, coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.

Egypt and Jordan have also condemned Israel’s actions.

The three leaders also discussed how to avert food, security, and energy crises worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the statement added.

The three leaders called on Russia and Ukraine to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Most Middle East nations have been cautious in their comments on the Ukraine war, stopping short of condemning Russia’s invasion.

Arab states have faced a sharp rise in food prices due to the war in Ukraine, which produces around a fifth of the world’s high-grade wheat and seven percent of all wheat.