Israel’s Bennett, Egypt’s Sissi set to meet in Sinai

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For the first time since taking office, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to meet Monday with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, the Egyptian Presidency said.

This would be the first formal, public meeting between leaders of both countries in a decade.

According to the statement from Cairo, the two leaders will discuss “international development and ways to revive the peace process” between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sissi is spearheading the international community’s efforts to reach a long-term agreement with respect to Gaza since the last round of fighting in May.

The meeting will take place in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula, the day after Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip for the third night in a row.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, this month.Palestinian President Office

The two leaders are set to first meet in private and later attend a wider meeting with teams from both countries.

The Israeli military carried out two airstrikes targeting five Hamas military outposts in the Strip overnight Sunday, after Palestinian militants launched two rockets at Israel. Both rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, with no casualties or damage reported.

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IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said on Sunday night that the Israeli military protects the border with Gaza and “will not accept any violation of sovereignty.” He added that “If the situation escalates, Hamas and the Gaza Strip will pay a heavy price.”

Ahead of Bennett’s meeting with al-Sissi, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid presented on Sunday a new proposal for the development of the Gaza Strip, saying that Israel’s policy since it withdrew from the coastal enclave in 2005 – includes restrictions on movement and commerce – has not been effective in preventing attacks by Hamas and other armed groups.

Calling for “economy in exchange for security,” which “would create stability on both sides of the border,” Lapid described his two-step plan as a “necessary policy.” Although not an official government plan, Lapid noted that both Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz back his position. And while the plan, which involves overhauling Gaza’s electricity, health and transportation systems, as well as the construction of major infrastructure projects, entails concepts that are by no means new, they have not yet been implemented.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at a cabinet meeting Monday that Gaza “is a political issue,” arguing that a comprehensive plan that includes the West Bank and Jerusalem is needed in order to solve it.

Only by “ending the occupation and lifting the blockade over the Gaza Strip, and stopping (Israeli) aggression” can Gaza reconstruction be made possible, Shtayyed added. He also said the Palestinian Authority is ready to “discuss any proposal” to allow Qatari aid money into Gaza.

Last month, Bennett and Gantz met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Bennett and Kamel discussed the political, security and economic aspects of Israeli-Egyptian relations, as well as Egypt’s role as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas following the latest round of fighting in May. At the meeting, Kamel invited Bennett to visit Egypt and meet with al-Sissi. At the same time, a senior member of Israel’s defense establishment visited Egypt as part of efforts to advance Gaza’s reconstruction and bring about lasting calm.

Bennett and al-Sissi first spoke in June, about two weeks after the new government was formed. A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office at the time emphasized Israel’s ongoing efforts to come to an agreement on the repatriation of several longtime Israeli captives and bodies of Israeli soldiers. A statement from al-Sissi’s office said the Egyptian president highlighted the need to reach a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians, and reiterated the Egyptian drive to help rebuild the Gaza Strip.

Reuters contributed to this report.