Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
One way that Egypt has been responding to America’s pressure is by not putting all of its eggs in one basket and diversifying its defense purchases, making significant procurements from France, such as 30 Dassault fighter jets, and Russia, which has sold Cairo 24 Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets.
Report: Egypt is in the midst of adopting a new approach to Israel, striving to deepen economic ties.
Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar is the first Israeli lawmaker to ever attend the Egypt Petroleum Show, the region’s most important oil and gas exhibition and conference.
The sale of 12 C-130 J Super Hercules transport aircraft is worth a reported $2.2 billion.
“The Egyptians are mediators, the conveyor of messages. No one’s paying attention to what’s not happening. There has not been one incendiary balloon for a month. Sometimes, what doesn’t happen is a very important thing,” said Eran Lerman, vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.
Egypt plays a critical role in border stability, and its president was keen to underline that fact as the Biden administration withholds military aid from Cairo over human-rights criticisms.
The report comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The two Mideast leaders discuss “ways to deepen and strengthen cooperation between the states, with an emphasis on broadening mutual trade, and a long series of regional and international issues.”
Despite intelligence-sharing between the neighboring countries, Cairo has not invited an Israeli prime minister to visit since 2013, the year Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power.
The reconstruction of Gaza has stalled over the issue of returning Israelis held by Hamas and preventing funds from getting to the terrorist group.
Cairo is concerned that a Biden administration will be hostile and undergo a new nuclear deal with Iran that could undermine regional stability, say Egyptian officials.
“Egypt’s relationship with Israel has remained largely under the table and in the security realm; issues are worked out privately among the professionals,” said Dana Stroul, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
