Sisi says U.S. Embassy move in Israel causes regional instability

FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a military ceremony in the courtyard of the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, France, November 26, 2014. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

Thomson Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday the move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem would cause "some instability" in the region, in his first public comments on the issue.

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem by the administration of President Donald Trump raised tension to boiling point after weeks of anti-Israeli demonstrations.

"On the move of the U.S. Embassy, we have said this issue will have negative reprecussions on Arab and Islamic public opinion and leads to a kind of dissatisfaction and some instability, and will have repercussions on the Palestinian cause," Sisi, a staunch U.S. ally, said in televised remarks at a youth conference.

"I urge the Israelis to understand that the reactions of Palestinians over this issue are legitimate and that (they) are handled by taking great care for the lives of Palestinians."

(Reporting by Ali Abdelaty and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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