Another senior official has been added to the Egyptian team, which has been mediating talks between Israel and Hamas since the end of the 11-day conflict between the Jewish state and Gaza terrorist groups in May, with Cairo taking sides. has extended its diplomatic push for In Washington, The Times of Israel has learned.
Veteran mediator Ahmed Abd al-Khalek is joined by one of his superiors, Amar Nazmi, indicating a more intense effort by Cairo to quell the long-term conflict in the volatile enclave.
Both intermediaries are Egyptian intelligence officers, but Nazmi is ranked above al-Khalek. Al-Khaleq handled mediation negotiations for several years, but these diplomatic efforts were halted until Israel was mired in a two-year political crisis of interim governments and four rounds of elections.
The reason for Nazmi’s involvement, The Times of Israel has learned, is the desire of the Egyptians to prepare for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s upcoming visit to Washington. Diplomats and the Egyptian Foreign Service were closely watching US President Joe Biden’s meeting with President Reuven Rivlin earlier this week and heeded Biden’s invitation to Bennett to come to DC “as soon as possible.”
Ahead of Bennett’s first visit to the United States as leader of Israel, the Egyptians are looking to show some advantage in talks to score points with the new Biden administration. Such an achievement could set a certain number of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in exchange for civilians and bodies of IDF soldiers held by Hamas, a figure that would be far less than the Gaza rulers demanded. They will seek additional success, underlining the Biden administration that Egypt remains highly engaged and committed to reaching a solution.
Relations between Washington and Cairo have passed through Jerusalem in recent years. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to tell reporters that Egyptians were trying to position themselves more favorably in DC with the help of their Israeli counterparts. The Egyptians were well aware of the warm relationship between former US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu and saw the Israeli leader’s close contacts as a portal to the Oval Office.
President Reuven Rivlin (left) and US President Joe Biden at the White House on June 29, 2021. (Ham Zach/GPO)
Now the situation looks like this. America has a new president who is warmly embracing the new Israeli leadership. Biden has distanced himself from Netanyahu and, when the political crisis in Israel worsened with the fourth election in March, he called on Rivlin for a farewell visit.
While plans for the Israeli president’s visit to Washington were still underway, a new Israeli government was sworn in and Biden told Rivlin that he wanted Bennett as his guest as soon as possible. Egypt watched this development carefully.
Major players in the Middle East – including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey – know that urgent issues for the US administration include its possible re-entry into the Iran nuclear deal and a tight schedule for talks to rejoin the deal. In which the fanatic Ibrahim Raisi is determined. Take over as the President of Iran on 3 August. Saudi Arabia’s situation in DC is unstable and Turkey’s situation is complicated, but Egyptians do not want to go back to the Obama era and are looking for a good working relationship with Biden. They want to be liked.
Egypt’s leadership With its diverse coalition members, which include left-wing parties as well as the Islamist Rams, the doors are open in DC for Israel’s new and young prime minister.
A Hamas police officer walks in front of large portraits of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi while the leader of Hamas meets with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Gaza City on May 31, 2021. (Adele Hana/AP)
While Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has not spoken with Netanyahu on the telephone for more than a year (not even during the short-lived seven months of the 35th government led by Netanyahu and Benny Gantz) earlier this week The conversation between Bennett and Sissy was extremely positive. Foreign Ministers Yair Lapid and Sameh Shoukri also had their first phone calls, and the Egyptians said all conversations were positive and productive.
So to speed up the pace, Amar Najmi has joined the Egyptian negotiating team.
On the Israeli side, National Security Council official Nimrod Gez and chief negotiator for the release of the Hamas-held Israelis, Yaron Blum, were recently in Cairo, joined by other members of the security team.
A key issue for Israel is the keeping of its citizens in Gaza – Hisham al-Sayed and Evra Mengistu – as well as the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Haider Goldin and Oron Shawl, who died in a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. Had gone. Israel has been insisting that no settlement will be reached without his return to Israel.
Clockwise from top left: Oron Shawl, Evra Mengistu, Haider Goldin and Hisham al-Sayed. (courtesy/flash90)
Meanwhile, the Egyptians are trying to make a breakthrough ahead of Bennett’s visit to Washington.
During the recent round of mediation talks in Cairo, the Egyptians focused on preliminary information regarding the exact itinerary of the Israeli leader. He aims to have Bennett enter the Oval Office and present a positive approach to Egypt-Israeli cooperation, perhaps even praising the work of the Egyptians.
Their ambition is to reach some sort of framework agreement by then and determine the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of a potential prisoner swap deal while reducing Hamas’ unrealistic numbers. Furthermore, the Egyptians, along with the Israelis, must find a way to show Americans that such a move will not undermine the credibility of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and encourage Hamas politically.
From the point of view of the Egyptians, the road to Washington passes through Jerusalem – no matter who is the prime minister of Israel or the US president.
