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Bennett's visit to Egypt: Cold peace seems hotter than ever for a few hours

The talks between the Prime Minister and the Egyptian president in Sharm el-Sheikh touched on many issues, but more than any deal in their relationship. Background of the escalation in the Gaza Strip

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• Naftali Bennett

• 'Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi

• Egypt

Lightning Ravid

Monday, 13 September 2021, 23:50 Updated: Tuesday, 14 September 2021, 00:14

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In the video: Prime Minister Bennett meets with Egyptian President al-Sisi (Photo: GPO)

Two and a half hours after the start of the four-way meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the presidential compound in Sharm el-Sheikh, the advisers of the two leaders encountered a problem. Their topics of conversation began to run out and hunger began to plague. When the door opened, hope arose that lunch had arrived, but it soon disappeared when it became clear that Bennett and al-Sisi were only seeking to resume coffee supplies.

In three hours of close conversation, Bennett and al-Sisi talked about tensions in Gaza, relations with the Palestinian Authority, Iran and security cooperation between Israel and Egypt. But most of all - the meeting dealt with the relationship between them. As in the first meeting with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, also in the meeting with the President of Egypt Bennett devoted quite a bit of time to personal acquaintance.

Egyptian President al-Sisi will maintain a good personal relationship with Netanyahu.

He knew him and knew how to work with him.

During 2020, when Israel was in a political crisis and moving between election campaigns and a dysfunctional government, Netanyahu tried several times to organize an invitation for a public visit to Egypt.

His requests were repeatedly denied, after he refused to accept the Egyptian request to accompany the visit with a tribute in the Palestinian territory.

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Bennett met with Egyptian President: "We have created an infrastructure for a deep connection, Israel is opening up to the countries of the region"

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The Egyptians made an unprecedented effort to externalize the visit and radiate heat.

Al-Sisi and Bennett, today (Photo: Government Press Office, Kobi Gideon)

In Bennett's case the situation was reversed. The Egyptians are the ones who initiated his invitation for a public visit and did not demand any consideration on the Palestinian issue. The Egyptians made an unprecedented effort to externalize Bennett's visit and radiate heat. They have made a long line of public gestures that have not been seen in Israeli-Egyptian relations for the past 15 years. The cold peace between Israel and Egypt seems for a few hours hotter than ever.

The Israeli side wanted to keep the exact date of the visit a secret. Both for security reasons and so as not to embarrass the Egyptians in the inner arena. The Prime Minister's Office also requested that the visit be postponed until Bennett returns to Israel. But the Egyptians had other plans. As part of the hug they gave Bennett, they issued an official announcement of his visit as soon as his plane took off from Ben Gurion Airport.

When Bennett landed at the airport, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and General Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel were waiting for him on the runway down the stairs, who accompanied him to the presidential compound.

In the preparatory meetings, the Israeli side asked the Egyptians only once that if there were flags in the room where the meeting would take place, they would also ask for an Israeli flag.

This may sound obvious, but the Egyptians did not set an Israeli flag in the meetings held by al-Sisi and before him Hosni Mubarak with Netanyahu.

When Bennett entered the room the two flags were there side by side.

The Prime Minister could not have asked for a better start to the relationship. The meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, today (Photo: Kobi Gideon)

The Egyptians continued the public gestures throughout the visit. They distributed photos from the meeting immediately after it began, posted a detailed message at the end and even sent a video of the meeting to the Egyptian media in which al-Sisi delivered a monologue praising relations with Israel. The Egyptian government television channels broadcast the video in the news editions. In Egypt, where there is a strong civil movement against normalization with Israel, this is no small thing.

The warmth radiated by the Egyptians and the publicity of the visit are not related to Bennett but not to Sisi. The Egyptian president needs Israel more than ever. Therefore, for him, building a good relationship with the new government in Israel is critical from a political and security point of view. The Egyptians need Israeli assistance from the democratic government in Washington on a variety of issues, the most burning of which is the confrontation with Ethiopia over the dam that the Ethiopians are building on the Nile. For the Egyptians this is an existential threat.

But there are other reasons for the Egyptian opening up.

One of them is related to the calendar.

This week, a year ago, the ceremony took place at the White House, where the "Abraham Agreements" were signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The normalization between Israel and the Gulf states and Morocco gave al-Sisi the political backing in the face of public opinion in his country to warm relations with Israel.

The Egyptian president also saw the new page that opened between Jordan and Israel immediately after Bennett took office and the political and economic gains and achievements that the Jordanians received as a result.

The Prime Minister could not have asked for a better opening to his relationship with the President of Egypt - the most important Arab state for Israel.

But the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh was only an opportunity for a first impression.

Significant test moments for the relationship will come soon.

Perhaps in the coming weeks against the background of the escalation in the Gaza Strip.

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