Report: Netanyahu, Sisi addressed Gaza situation at secret meeting in Egypt

An unconfirmed report in the Hebrew media claims that Netanyahu met in secret with Sisi to hammer out a solution to the Gaza conflict.

By: TPS and World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently met in secret with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to discuss a possible long-term arrangement for the Gaza Strip, according to an unconfirmed report on Channel 10 News.

According to the report Monday, Netanyahu met on May 22 with the Egyptian president in Cairo where the two discussed reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, easing of restrictions on the Gaza Strip and the return of the remains of Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in the framework of a long-term ceasefire agreement.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to confirm the report. Netanyahu and Sisi met in public in Cairo in September 2017.

The Channel 10 report was based on comments by unnamed US officials, who claimed Netanyahu spent only a few hours in Cairo in May with a small team of advisers and a security detail, with knowledge of the trip’s existence withheld from the security cabinet.

US President Donald Trump’s long-awaited peace plan was also reportedly discussed.

According to the Channel 10 report, Sisi insisted that the Palestinian Authority must resume administration of the Gaza Strip, with Israel, the Arab states and the international community pressing PA President Mahmoud Abbas to take responsibility for Gaza’s management, a role he has so far been unwilling to take on.