Netanyahu
NetanyahuFlash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met secretly with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi two months ago, American officials told News 10.

According to the report by journalist Barak Ravid, Netanyahu secretly flew to Egypt on May 22 along with a small number of advisers and security guards, stayed there for several hours and returned to Israel late at night. The trip remained secret and most of the members of the Political-Security Cabinet did not know of it.

Netanyahu and el-Sisi discussed mainly the Egyptian attempt to promote a political arrangement in the Gaza Strip that would include a return of Palestinian Authority rule to the Gaza Strip, a ceasefire, a significant easing of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza and steps to rehabilitate the critical infrastructure in Gaza.

Netanyahu and al-Sisi also discussed finding a solution to the issue of the bodies of Israeli soldiers and the Israeli civilians held by Hamas in Gaza. The extraordinary meeting also dealt with the American peace plan, which the White House has been interested in presenting for a long time..

El-Sisi stressed to Netanyahu that a solution to the situation in the Gaza Strip must be achieved through the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip and the removal of responsibility for managing the Gaza Strip from Hamas - even if this happens gradually and without disarming the terrorists in Gaza as a precondition.

The Egyptian president's message was that Israel, the Arab states and the international community should press PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to take responsibility for managing Gaza, despite his unwillingness to do so.