A recent meeting between Israeli and Egyptian leaders has people wondering what kind of support the Egyptian public might have for normalizing relations between the countries and how normalization might affect the Palestinian issue.

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu July 10 in Jerusalem. The meeting marked the first visit for an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel since 2007. Shoukry said he considered the visit significant to advancing the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

Mohamed El-Orabi, head of the Egyptian parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, said Shoukry’s visit to Israel is part of Egypt's role in reviving the Palestinian issue. He told Al-Monitor that, as Egypt and Israel have a peace accord, there are naturally mutual visits between officials in Cairo and Tel Aviv.

Egyptian experts following up on the visit criticized the fact that Netanyahu welcomed Shoukry at his place in Jerusalem instead of criticizing the official meeting itself. They specifically pointed to photos posted on Facebook by Netanyahu's spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, showing Shoukry and Netanyahu watching the final game of the Euro Cup.