Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid visits Egypt to strengthen ties | Abdel Fattah el-Sisi News

The Israeli prime minister has arrived in Cairo for a state visit aimed at strengthening ties and resolving tensions. to end war between Israel and Hamas officials in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday for talks highlighting growing ties between Egypt and the new Israeli government. Egypt’s intelligence chief took part in the meetings.

Egypt, the first Arab country to make a peace treaty with Israel, has served as a major mediator between Israel and Hamas.

Terrible enemies have fought four wars since Hamas overthrew the Gaza Strip in 2007, recently Israel’s 11-day invasion on the Gaza Strip, which began on May 10 killing at least 253 Palestinians, including 66 children, and injuring more than 1,900 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

At least 12 people, including three foreign workers and two children, were killed in Israel by rockets fired by Hamas and other forces from Gaza at the same time.

Egypt has been working quietly to prepare for a long-term agreement.

Hamas wants to weaken the crippled walls of Israel and Egypt, while Israel wants the release of two Israeli slaves and the remains of two soldiers killed by Hamas.

Israeli Foreign Ministry said Lapid had issued a plan to boost Gaza’s economy to ensure peace, and the rescue of weapons, by Hamas. It said the plan should address the “issue of victims and the needy”.

Lapid reiterated Israel’s efforts to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, whose troops were defeated by Hamas in 2007.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas only controls autonomous territories in the West Bank of Israel.

Lapid raised Israeli concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and said his country wanted to strengthen cooperation with Egypt on economic, energy, agriculture, and trade, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

“Egypt is a very important ally in Israel,” Lapid said. “My aim is to strengthen our security, diplomatic, and economic ties with Egypt. It is important that we continue to promote peace between the two countries.”

Upon his arrival, Lapid was received by el-Sisi, who reaffirmed his country’s commitment to ending bilateral relations and achieving “complete and just” peace in the Middle East, according to an El-Sisi office.

Palestinians are seeking independence from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza – territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war.

Egypt, like many other countries in the world, has always been a supporter of Palestinian independence. The new Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, opposes Palestinian rights and has banned peace talks, although he seeks ways to reduce tensions and boost Palestinian economy.

In a separate conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Lapid presented 95 ancient Egyptian artifacts unearthed in Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry says a smuggler was arrested in 2013 at a airport from Egypt. More than 90 others found in an antique shop in Jerusalem that year.

It said that the items included inscriptions, a piece of wood, papyrus, statues of Egyptian goddesses, and other burial images. Israel unveiled a portrait of Lapid and Shoukry in front of a table full of antiquities.

Egypt and Israel reached a historic peace treaty in 1979. Many relations have been good between the two countries, although in the past security ties have remained strong. There have been significant signs of total cooperation in recent months.

Lapid’s trip came three months later Bennett spoke with El-Sisi On the shores of the Red Sea in Sharm el-Sheikh. It was the first official visit to Egypt by the Israeli prime minister in more than a decade. At the time, the trip showed the warmth in a security-focused relationship but a little cooler under Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Also in May, the then Israeli foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, met with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo. It was Israel’s first ambassador to Egypt in 13 years.