Israeli Prime Minister Bennett holds talks with Egyptian President -

Cairo/Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday. This is the first time that Israeli leaders have paid an official visit to the Egyptian President in a decade. Earlier in 2011, then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with then-Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Over the past few years, Egypt has taken an aggressive stance against terrorist and extremist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. At the same time, Egypt has been cooperating with Israel on the issue of violence in the Gaza Strip and has also expressed support for Israel’s position on the subject of Iran. Against this backdrop, the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to Egypt is noteworthy.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt’s Sinai province. Both sides said he met with Egyptian President Sisi to discuss critical issues. The talks focused on topics such as the conflict in Gaza, halting the supply of weapons to Hamas, Iran’s nuclear program, and Turkish involvement in the Libyan war, sources said.

The statement was issued by Israeli Prime Minister Bennett following his meeting with President Sisi. The report said, ‘The meeting with the President of Egypt was important and went well. The foundation is laid for long-term cooperation between Israel and Egypt. Both leaders discussed political, security and economic issues. At the same time, various options were discussed to strengthen ties further and safeguard the interests of both the countries.’

A spokesman for President Sisi from Egypt reacted after the meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister. President Sisi has promised to support all ongoing efforts for peace in the Gulf, the spokesman said. Sisi told an Egyptian news channel that the ceasefire in Gaza and the issue of a dam to be built by Ethiopia were discussed.

Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Since then, Egypt has consistently played a key role in mediating the conflict between Israel and Hamas. There have been reports of secret meetings between Israeli and Egyptian leaders and officials in the past few years. But it has not been officially confirmed by either country. In 2018, it was claimed that the then Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, had met with Egyptian President Sisi.