Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly traveled to Egypt in May to meet with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Channel 10 news reports.
Quoting unnamed American officials, the reports says the focus of the trip was to discuss an arrangement in the Gaza Strip that would see the return of the Palestinian Authority to the coastal enclave, a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, the easing of the Israeli and Egyptian blockades on the Strip and steps to advance humanitarian projects there.
They also discussed the Israeli citizens and bodies of two soldiers being held by Hamas, Channel 10 reports, as well as the Trump administration’s peace plan.
During the meeting, Sissi stressed the need for the return of the PA to Gaza, even if this done gradually and doesn’t include Hamas giving up its heavy weaponry as a precondition, and said Israel, Arab states and the international community must press PA President Mahmoud Abbas to do so, according to the report.
The report says the trip took place on May 22 and that most ministers in the security cabinet were not aware of the meeting between the leaders.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in New York on September 19, 2017 (Avi Ohayun)
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