(JNS.org) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah at a royal palace in Jeddah on Sunday, August 10. The two leaders of the Arab world’s most populous and wealthy states met to discuss both regional and international issues, including the conflict in Gaza and the situation in Iraq, Al-Arabiya reported. “There is no doubt that the meeting between the leadership of the two countries is important in light of the current circumstance of the Arab and Muslim nation,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. Many in the Arab world have criticized the two leaders for their soft response to Israel’s campaign against Hamas. Analysts speculate that both leaders favor Israel weakening or destroying Hamas, an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which was declared a terrorist organization by Egypt and Saudi Arabia last year.