Egyptian and Israeli interests converge in Gaza, Sinai, Syria, and Libya, and regarding Turkey and other regional matters.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Bennett’s predecessor, Benyamin Netanyahu, was the last Israeli prime minister to make an official visit to Egypt, in 2011. The state visit, which involves a formal ceremony at the airport and press coverage, indicates that the Egyptian government is ready to work publicly with Israel’s new government.

Egypt broke the Arab taboo on relations with Israel when it signed a peace treaty in March 1979. Nevertheless, Egypt has been reluctant to implement “normalization” clauses in the peace treaty, keeping to a “cold peace” with Israel. Cairo has discouraged its citizens from interactions with Israelis. Until recently, when the government tone somewhat softened, it hardly changed the curriculum in the Egyptian education system regarding Israel. Government-controlled media has remained hostile and occasionally antisemitic. There has been some cooperation between the two countries in agriculture and energy, and for a while, Israeli tourists were welcome in Egypt. But the narrow bilateral ties primarily were conducted via military channels.

The Egyptian posture toward Israel seemed to signal the limits on relations with Israel for an Arab state. To a great extent, Jordan emulated the Egyptian positions. (Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994). In contrast, the 2020 Abraham Accords constituted a dramatic change in approach, encouraging multi-faceted people-to-people interactions, particularly between the UAE and Israel.

The fanfare around the Abraham Accords, as well as the fact that Israel has a new Prime Minister, probably made it easier for Cairo to invite Bennett. So did the cumulative impact of enhanced covert security cooperation in recent years between Egypt and Israel. The two countries share a burgeoning common strategic agenda.

Image: Israel Defense