The Times of Israel: Egyptian President refuses to meet with Netanyahu as the gas import deal is stagnating
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi doesn’t currently plan to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite reports that Israel is trying to arrange a possible summit in Cairo, a government source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel newspaper.
The source pointed out that Egypt is angry with Israel over a series of issues that have been pending for months, which reduces the chances of any close meeting between the two presidents, despite the interest of both Israel and the United States in promoting this summit.
The source added that Cairo fears Israel’s continued intentions to push the Palestinians towards the Sinai Peninsula, in light of plans to focus on the first reconstruction projects in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
The opening of the Rafah crossing is limited to Palestinians wishing to leave the Strip, which Egypt sees as an attempt to reduce the population in Gaza, stressing that it won’t allow this.
The source also pointed out that the withdrawal of Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen last October from signing a gas agreement with Egypt angered Cairo and Washington, after he considered it unfair to Israel.
Relations between Netanyahu and Sisi have been strained for years, and they have not spoken since before the Gaza war, despite Netanyahu’s recent attempts to mend relations.
The source asserts that Sisi is adamant that he won’t communicate with Netanyahu unless there is a fundamental change in Israel’s behavior toward Cairo, and he doesn’t want to be used as a tool during the Israeli election year.
