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Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday met with Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo, where the two discussed the Iranian threat, and Israel’s attempts to reach an agreement with the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Lapid and President Sissi spoke about Tehran’s nuclear programme and the threat to regional stability posed by its support for armed proxy groups, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Mr Lapid also presented his vision for Gaza, which would offer economic incentives in return for an end to Hamas attacks.
It comes after Hamas sources earlier this week said that the terror group was considering a return to violence against Israel, while also criticising Egypt for its role in brokering a ceasefire to end the conflict in May this year.
Foreign Minister Lapid originally announced his two-stage plan for Gaza in September. Under the plan, the first stage would entail rehabilitating infrastructure in Gaza in exchange for tight international oversight, as well as quiet from Hamas.
In the second stage of Lapid’s plan, the two sides would see the realisation of more ambitious projects, including an artificial island built off the coast of the enclave, as part of a long-proposed plan to see a port built in Gaza, and the West Bank and Gaza would be linked by infrastructure projects. Sissi and Lapid also discussed combating terror, and measures taken by Israel to strengthen the Palestinian Authority.
