The head of Arab League (AL) said on Saturday that a stage of comprehensive and normal Arab-Israeli peace relations can only be achieved when the Palestinian people gain their freedom and independence, said the Cairo-based pan-Arab body in a statement.
AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit explained that this can be reached through the "land for peace" principle and the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Aboul-Gheit's remarks came several days after the United Arab Emirates reached a U.S.-brokered peace agreement with Israel that includes "full normalization of relations." Although welcomed by some Arab states, the deal was rejected by the Palestinian side as "a stab in the back."
The AL chief said that the Palestinian cause is a matter of consensus among all Arab states and ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is a central goal of all Arab countries "without exception."
"A true, lasting, just and comprehensive peace with all its elements remains a strategic option for Arab countries," Aboul-Gheit added.
He also voiced "complete and unanimous Arab rejection" of Israel's plan to annex parts of the Palestinian occupied territories in the West Bank.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for over seven decades following the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the Western-backed creation of Israel in 1948.
Egyptian president welcomes cease-fire in Libya
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi welcomed on Friday cease-fire announcements made by UN-backed Prime Minister of Libya Fayez Serraj and Speaker of the eastern-based parliament Aguila Saleh.
"I welcome the statements issued by the Presidential Council and the House of Representatives (parliament) in Libya for a cease-fire and stopping military operations in all Libyan territories," Sisi posted on his official Facebook page.
Sisi said it is an important step towards achieving a political settlement as well as restoring stability and prosperity in Libya.
Earlier in the day, Serraj announced a cease-fire and ending all hostilities in Libya, calling for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Saleh has also called for a cease-fire and elections, as well as resumption of oil exports.
Libya has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of its former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments with warring forces, namely the UN-backed government based in the capital Tripoli and the other in the northeastern city of Tobruk allied with the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar and the eastern-based House of Representatives.