No one was surprised by this week’s announcement that head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate Abbas Kamel is expected to visit Israel in the near future. This comes in the wake of a highly publicized Sept. 13 meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, and a trip to Cairo by the heads of the National Security Council and the Shin Bet Nov. 14. And so, Kamel’s expected visit is the natural outcome of a warming in the relationship between Jerusalem and Cairo.

The latest developments in this relationship are dramatic. They come after four decades of a cold, and some might even say disaffected, peace between the two countries, at least in terms of their public statements. Behind the scenes, the two countries actually drew significantly closer over the last few years, particularly over matters of security. Reciprocal visits between high-level officials had become a matter of routine.

This somewhat clandestine relationship over security issues can be attributed to common interests shared by Israel and Egypt. Of particular importance are Israel’s security situation in dealing with the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s ongoing battle with Islamic State (IS) terrorists, who have posed a serious threat to security and stability in the Sinai Peninsula.

It wasn’t just Egyptians who have been losing sleep in the past few years over the security threat in Sinai. Israelis did, too. Jerusalem has been concerned that IS there would expand its terrorist activities to Israeli territory. It has even been worrying about the possibility that its terrorists would link up with terrorist groups in Gaza. Egyptian involvement in efforts to advance understanding with Hamas and secure quiet on that front have also become a major stake for Israel.