The National Center for Middle East Studies held a conference entitled “Egypt and the Palestinian Cause” from 16 to 18 October 2016, in which a large number of Egyptian experts and academics and their counterparts from the Palestinian side participated in. The participants in the conference appreciated the efforts made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi towards the Palestinian cause, as his Excellency was keen to end the division and restore unity among the Palestinians, which would qualify them to face the current challenges facing them. The participants also expressed their appreciation for President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and the Palestinian leadership.

The participants emphasized a set of main points as follows:

• The necessity of strengthening national unity and ending the division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as the importance of all national forces reaching a single national program that serves the interests of the Palestinians.
• The importance of ending all internal Palestinian disputes through comprehensive dialogue.
• Any political reform within Palestine requires arranging priorities, not quitting at disagreements and divisions, and upholding the Palestinian national interest in the first place.
• Adhering to the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians.
• Providing Arab support for the Palestinian political stance and not abandoning it against Israeli practices aimed at judaizing the lands and liquidating the Palestinian cause.
• Supporting the Palestinian negotiator in regional and international forums in a way that serves the Palestinian national project in its content and political implications.
• The Palestinian issue still occupies a high priority in Egyptian foreign policy, which requires continued communication between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides at all levels in a way that primarily serves Palestine.
• The necessity of detecting practical solutions to open the Rafah crossing in a way that meets Palestinian humanitarian needs and is consistent with Egyptian national security requirements.

In light of the discussions that took place during the conference, the participants recommended the following:

• Supporting the efforts made by the Egyptian political leadership towards uniting the Palestinians and ending the division in order to revive efforts aimed at resolving the Palestinian cause and ending the suffering of the Palestinian people.
• Appealing to Egypt to hold a meeting that includes the Palestinian factions to agree on a single national program that will enable the Palestinian people to confront the current challenges and work to achieve Palestinian reconciliation as soon as possible.
• Demanding that another conference be held in Egypt with the participation of broader segments of civil society, academics, and Palestinian intellectuals from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
• Appealing to Egypt to establish a mechanism to operate the Rafah crossing at frequent intervals to alleviate the burden on citizens of Gaza, especially students, patients, and those holding residency abroad, in a way that does not affect the Egyptian national security.