Lapid and Shoukry
Lapid and ShoukryGabi Farkash

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met in Brussels on Sunday.

The meeting was held as part of Foreign Minister Lapid's trip to the European Union. The meeting lasted about an hour and the two discussed security and political issues.

Lapid brought up the issue of the Israelis being held captive in the Gaza Strip before the Egyptian Foreign Minister. In addition, the two discussed ways to strengthen the security of the State of Israel in the face of terrorist threats and a number of options regarding humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

A spokesperson for Egypt's foreign ministry said on Twitter that Shoukry stressed "the need to resolve the current stalemate between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, leading to just and comprehensive peace negotiations."

Shoukry last month called on the new Israeli government to take “brave decisions” towards reaching a peace deal in the region.

He added that Egypt looks forward to working with the new Israeli government to push the Israeli-Palestinian Arab peace process and to establish an independent Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in late June spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who congratulated him on assuming office.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the two leaders discussed a broad range of bilateral, regional and international issues. They praised the peace agreement between the two countries, which was achieved under the aegis, and with the mediation, of the US and which has constituted a cornerstone of stability in the Middle East for over 40 years.

Bennett thanked Sisi for his country's important role in establishing stability, security and peace in the region, as well as on the Palestinian issue, with emphasis on its efforts to advance a solution on the issue of the captive and missing Israelis.

The Egyptian President underscored the need to establish the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of improving the civil and humanitarian situation of the residents of the Strip, and noted the need to resume the diplomatic process, the statement said.