(recast) Egypt's Sisi urges Palestinians, Israelis to value chance for peace

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Tuesday that there is a "real chance" to establish true peace between the conflicting Palestinian and Israeli sides if they can respond to Arab and international peacemaking efforts, official MENA news agency reported.

"Egypt is willing to play a mediating role between the Palestinians and the Israelis," the Egyptian president said while opening a power project in Upper Egypt's province of Assiut.

Going on for about seven decades, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has long been the a gnawing concern in the turmoil-stricken Middle East region.

A Saudi-led Arab peace initiative in 2002 urged Israel to fully withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 in return for normal relations with the Arab world.

However, Israel rejected the initiative.

"If the Palestinian issue is resolved with an earnest will, it will open a new chapter that may add to what has been achieved between Egypt and Israel through the peace treaty that lasted for over 40 years," Sisi said.

The Egyptian president urged the Palestinian factions for unity and reconciliation and the Israelis for making use of the available real chance for peace despite the regional conditions.

"I tell both the Palestinians and the Israelis that there is a great chance for a better future, a better life, more stability and greater cooperation," he added.

France has recently said it will continue to press ahead with plans to host a multilateral Middle East peace conference later this year despite the Israeli rejection of the idea. Enditem