Middle East Monitor / August 19, 2021
Head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel yesterday invited Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to carry out an official visit to Cairo, media reports said.
In a meeting with Bennett, Kamel discussed the Egyptian efforts to advance the peace process and the procedures to maintain calm in all the Palestinian lands, an official Egyptian statement said, in addition to the latest developments in the relationship between Israel and Egypt.
Kamel also meet with Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit.
According to the statement, Kamel’s visit comes within the framework of the Egyptian efforts to boost the peace process backed by the President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
During the visit, Kamel invited Bennett for an official visit to Cairo in the next few weeks, a statement issued by Bennett’s office said, noting that the invitation was conveyed by Kamel on behalf of Al-Sisi.
“The invitation from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was conveyed by Egypt’s intelligence minister during a meeting with Bennett in Jerusalem,” the statement said.
The last official Israeli prime ministerial visit to Cairo took place in 2011, when Benjamin Netanyahu met with late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
There have been reports that Netanyahu secretly met with Al-Sisi in 2018.