Palestinian issue was and will remain Arab's main agenda: Sisi

CAIRO: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi today said that the Palestinian issue was and will remain Arab world's main agenda and urged Israel to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

"I call on the Israeli people and the government: now is the time to end the conflict so that prosperity prevails, so that we all can have peace and security," Sisi said in his opening remarks at an international donor conference to raise funds for Gaza.

"We will continue to back the Palestinian cause, accentuate its importance and make it a priority for the Arab world," he stated.

The donor conference of Reconstructing Gaza is being held in Cairo with participation of delegates from more than 50 countries including India, the US and Russia to chalk out plans for rebuilding the Gaza Strip following the recent conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant movement Hamas.

The Egyptian President said that reconstructing Gaza includes permanent truce and it is linked to comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said during his speech that Gaza needs large sources and potentials to bring back life to its people.

"Gaza Reconstruction Conference" is aiming at raising billions of dollars to rebuild around 17,000 Gazan homes razed by Israeli bombings during the 51-day conflict that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and left 100,000 others homeless.

The conference, co-organised by Egypt and Norway and attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, 30 foreign ministers and various international monetary and humanitarian bodies, will focus on the Strip's current humanitarian situation which remains dire and needs long-term recovery assistance and re-building.

Earlier this month, the Palestinian government had called for about USD 4 billion to rebuild the war-battered territory.

Fighting between Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas during July and August in Gaza had killed over 2,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, along with 64 Israeli soldiers and five civilians.