The Israeli occupation of Palestinian land must end through the implementation of long-established international laws, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Arab foreign ministers at a special Arab League meeting in Cairo on Saturday.

The Palestinian president called on Arab states to help in the process of rallying more countries to follow the example of Sweden and the Vatican in recognising Palestine as a state.

He also stressed that the Palestinian side is fully committed to implementing all international agreements and said that the time has come for the mobilisation of Arab and international will in order to help Palestinians gain their freedom.

Abbas referred to East Jerusalem, occupied in 1967, as "the eternal capital of the state of Palestine" and insisted that the Israeli presence on any Palestinian land would be unacceptable.

Earlier in the day, Abbas met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi at Itihadiya Palace in Cairo where they discussed the latest regional developments, including the French initiative for a Palestinian-Israeli peace conference and the upcoming international support group for peace negotiations in Paris on Friday 3 June.