GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a dinner party on July 10 in Jerusalem to honor Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who had come to Israel in a first visit of its kind since 2007. Shoukry accepted Netanyahu’s demand for help from Egypt to return the Israeli missing soldiers held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to a July 11 article posted on the website of the Hebrew-language Channel Arabil.
But with the deteriorating bilateral relations between Egypt and Hamas due to the latter’s ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, some questions are perplexing observers. How can Hamas count on Egypt to be a mediator between the movement and Israel? Can the current Egyptian regime help Israel retrieve its missing people? Which is the alternative state for Egypt that could play the role of mediator between Hamas and Israel to conclude a new prisoner exchange deal?