The office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a clarification Sunday evening about his statement to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera that Egypt would be prepared to send troops to a future Palestinian state.

“Regarding the statement about the possibility of sending troops from Egypt and the Arab countries to secure a future Palestinian state, these statements were made to encourage Israel to move towards the two-state solution,” said Ambassador Alaa Youssef, according to the website of Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper.

Sisi said in the interview published Sunday that he would be prepared to send troops to a future Palestinian state to help stabilize it, but only in agreement with Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

“We are ready to send military forces into a Palestinian state,” he said in the interview.

“We would help the local police and reassure the Israelis through our role as guarantor. Not forever, of course but for the time necessary to re-establish confidence. But first a Palestinian state must exist where troops can be sent to,” he added.

Sisi said he had spoken of the idea with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The interview comes as Abbas continues his plans to turn to the UN Security Council with a resolution setting a deadline for Israel to “end the occupation”, a unilateral move that is in violation of the Oslo Accords.

The move has been accompanied by threats, with Abbas having recently threatened to cut ties with Israel if his latest unilateral move at the UN fails.

“If all efforts fail, we will end relations with Israel and I will tell Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ‘Come and take over’. However, I will not dismantle the Palestinian Authority and I will submit a request to join all the organizations belonging to the UN,” he declared.

Fatah leader Nabil Shaath recently threatened Israel with a “political war” if there is a negative response to Abbas’s steps at the United Nations.