There was good reason for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to dispatch his director of intelligence, Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel, for the first high-level Egyptian meeting with senior members of the new Israeli government. “Kamel is the man closest to Sisi, his right-hand man in the full sense of the word, and that sends the exact message he wanted to convey,” a senior Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. That message, he added, was “the extent to which he is serious in wanting to forge cooperation and an intimate working relationship” with Israel’s new leadership.

Kamel met in Jerusalem on Aug. 18-19 with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and top Israeli defense and intelligence officials. At the same time, a senior, unnamed Israeli officer was visiting Cairo for talks on security issues. His agenda items included ongoing efforts to establish a long-term cease-fire with Hamas, which would also include returning the bodies of two Israeli soldiers and releasing two civilians held in Gaza. Contrary to previous visits, this time Kamel did not insist on secrecy, nor did he try to avoid photo-ops. “On the contrary,” the diplomatic source said, “They want their photos taken and they want to be seen with us, just like the Jordanians. Relations with Israel have become an asset rather than being a burden.”

Bennett’s people have changed their approach. Senior Israeli officials used to urge their Arab colleagues to publicize their meetings with Israelis, to provide photo-ops and flaunt the relationship, while the Arabs usually preferred to avoid doing so. These days, the Israelis are no longer pressing the Arabs, telling them instead that it is up to them to choose how they want to play these meetings. And lo and behold: The Arabs are keen on the limelight. The Egyptians need the relationship with Israel more than ever.

Relations with Egypt are different than with Jordan. Unlike the cold shoulder he gave Jordan’s King Abdullah, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained close ties with Sisi. And Israeli-Egyptian cooperation in recent years broke all records, mostly, according to foreign publications, in efforts to uproot the Islamic State organization from the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptians are now trying to signal that as far as they are concerned, it is business as usual with the new Israeli government too. They have no intention of suspending or downgrading relations, and perhaps even to the contrary. “Egypt needs us particularly in the Biden era,” the senior Israeli security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “They emerged from the Trump era completely identified with the previous president; they want to signal through us to the Biden administration that they are present and interested in US recognition.”