Israeli foreign minister meets Egyptian president in Cairo
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in another sign of strengthening bilateral ties.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo Dec. 9. They discussed the Iranian threat, strengthening bilateral ties in various spheres and Egypt-mediated efforts to reach a long-term agreement between Israel and Hamas.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Lapid and Sisi spoke about the Iranian nuclear program, the Vienna talks and the threat to regional stability posed by Iranian support for armed proxy groups. They also discussed combating terror and measures taken by Israel to strengthen the Palestinian Authority.
Lapid then presented Sisi with his vision for Gaza, a plan he unveiled last September at a conference of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University. Lapid’s economic plan would offer financial incentives to Gazans in return for an end to Hamas attacks against Israel. The two men also discussed the Israeli demand for the return of the bodies of two IDF soldiers and two Israelis held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Lapid also presented Sisi with stolen Egyptian artifacts that had been smuggled to Israel and confiscated by the Israel Antiquities Authority. It is the first time Israel has publicly returned such artifacts to Egypt. A statement published by the Israeli foreign office ahead the meetings read, "As a gesture to strengthen relations, Foreign Minister Lapid, in cooperation with Israel's Antiquities Authority, will return Egyptian archeological items seized in Israel. The director of the Antiquities Authority, Eli Escozido, is joining the visit.’’
