Israeli PM Naftali Bennett visits Egypt; Israel-Palestine peace process on agenda

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday. The Egyptian presidential office said that the meeting would be based on Israeli-Palestinian relations and other bilateral issues. It is the first official trip by an Israeli head of government to Egypt for a decade. Bennett is the leader of the far-right party, Yamina, and took office in June. He was invited by the Egyptian President for bilateral talks last month and will be meeting on the southern tip of Egypt's the Sinai Peninsula. Fattah al-Sisi is expected to hold discussions to bring about peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is an initiative taken by Egypt's presidency to bring about peace and prosperity in the region.

Egypt is the latest nation trying to mediate between the two war-torn nations. Israel and Palestine have been at war ever since the “existence of humanity”, however tensions escalated when talks between them collapsed in 2014. Experts on the matter suggest that the two countries cannot find a middle ground as their demands are opposite and refuse to compromise. Bennett does not only refuse to lower Israel’s guard, but his government has also refused to accept Palestinian statehood. Another focus of the talks would be the Gaza Strip, as Egypt previously helped to mediate a ceasefire agreement after 11 days of conflict earlier this May. Although, there have been certain instances of violence in the past few weeks. Even last week, Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel, resulting in the Israeli military launching retaliatory attacks.

Other topics of interest for the meeting

Bennett and Sisi will also explore issues that influence the Middle East, such as Iran's role in the region or the crisis in Lebanon. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel back in 1979, and the relations between the country have remained content. The last visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to Egypt was in January 2011, when former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. This meeting was just weeks before Mubarak’s government was taken over, and he was given life imprisonment the following year.

Image: AP