Stalled peace process fuels radicals: El-Sissi

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi on Wednesday blamed the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process for fueling regional militancy, as Washington tries to shore up support to combat Islamic State fighters.
El-Sissi, a former army chief, is battling militants in the Sinai Peninsula who have killed scores of policemen and soldiers.
The retired field marshal has sought to link his campaign against opposition and militants with the fight against organizations such as the Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.
On Wednesday, however, he singled out the floundering peace process which he said contributed to a “fertile environment for the growth and spread of extremism, violence and terrorism.”
Long drawn out US-brokered negotiations between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel collapsed in April with both sides blaming each other.
“What strengthens this environment, and gives excuses to those who exploit religion and terrorism, is the continuation of the Palestinian cause for decades without an equitable resolution,” his office quoted him as saying in a statement.
Egypt was the first Arab country that signed a peace deal with Israel, in 1979, but ties have remained chilly.
El-Sissi has been supportive of Abbas.
During the latest Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas, Egypt, a traditional mediator, at first proposed a cease-fire deal which Hamas charged was favorable to the Jewish state.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was to meet Palestinian negotiators in Washington to discuss the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and other issues, the State Department said.