The road to Washington passes through Tel Aviv.. Why did Egypt openly receive the Prime Minister of Israel?

Before Naftali Bennett, the Israeli Prime Minister, made his first visit to the White House on August 25, Egypt reacted to the news of that Israeli visit by sending Major General Abbas Kamel, director of Egyptian intelligence, to Tel Aviv. At the same time, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in hosting Sisi in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, was among the regime’s attempts in Egypt to overcome the outstanding points of disagreement with US President “Joe Biden” with regard to democracy and human rights in Egypt, files that did not succeed in the contracts signed by the Egyptian embassy. With the American pressure companies dissolving them, which prompted Cairo to go indirectly to knock on Washington's door by wooing the new Israeli leadership.

It was not enough for Cairo to send Kamel, the president's shadow and confidant, with a letter in which she asked Bennett to assure senior American officials the importance of stability in Egypt for the security of Israel and the Middle East. And then came the Egyptian public invitation for the first time in ten years to the new Israeli Prime Minister to visit Egypt, away from the framework of secrecy that is recognized in the visits of the leaders of the two countries, a news that was quickly confirmed by the official Israeli channel, days before the announcement of Bennett’s arrival in the city of Sharm Al-Sheikh is already on September 13, 2021. The meeting lasted three hours and was attended by Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Abbas Kamel, Director of General Intelligence, and Eyal Hulta, head of the Israeli National Security Council and Military Secretary to the Prime Minister. Israeli, in addition to the presence of "Yaron Blum", the coordinator of the affairs of the Israeli prisoners and missing persons, figures who reveal the nature of the files discussed by the two parties.

Meeting with Sisi (right) and Bennett (Reuters)

The crisis relations between Cairo and Washington

It is no secret that the Egyptian regime preferred former US President Donald Trump to stay in the White House for a second term, but Cairo refrained during the previous US elections from taking any position that might be interpreted against it later as support for either of the two candidates.

But after it became clear that Biden was on his way to winning the elections, US lawmakers quickly launched a coalition to defend human rights in Egypt, and Democratic lawmakers demanded the release of activists languishing in Egyptian prisons, and the US Congress blocked the disbursement of a $300 million military aid package to Egypt from The out of the 1.3 billion dollars that Egypt receives annually, then they linked its disbursement to the condition of achieving progress in the human rights file inside Egypt.

Despite its calm and diplomacy in interacting with Biden's victory, the rise of the Democratic president negatively affected a number of Egyptian interests, most notably the Egyptian regime's loss of the pressure card that Trump applied to Addis Ababa regarding the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is the central issue of Egyptian diplomacy at the present time. During his presidency, Trump warned of the Ethiopian position and gave Cairo the green light to strike the dam if a binding agreement was not reached between the three parties. At home, the impact of the arrests eased after a new wave caused by criticism by journalists and doctors of the Egyptian government regarding its management of the Corona pandemic. On the other hand, Cairo was forced to release a number of detainees, after Washington’s calls to stop military aid.

As a result, Egypt realized that it had to make a greater effort to prevent the deterioration of its relations with Washington, and accordingly, Abbas Kamel was sent to the American capital last July, and the man’s task was to disengage from the outstanding issues with the new American administration, and to agree on a new formula. It guarantees Cairo its traditional role as a major player in the Middle East, especially the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict. During his visit, Kamel sought to start coordination in order to invite a number of representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties to visit Egypt, including representatives who attacked the Egyptian regime in the past, and most importantly, to confirm that military aid is not linked to the human rights file, a policy that came within a strategy previously pledged by Biden, which requires not to The Egyptian regime granted more "blank checks", in stark contrast to the position taken towards Israel, which Anthony Blinken pledged.The US Secretary of State, that the aid allocated to it will never be linked to its obligations towards the Palestinians.

In the era of Trump, the former US president did not attach much importance to the situation of freedoms in Egypt, even describing Sisi as his "favorite dictator" in a famous statement that has become the subject of many jokes, but he revealed the Egyptian regime's success in creating a special relationship with the White House at the time and exploiting its right-wing agenda . While Rex Tillerson, the former US Secretary of State, tried to pressure Egypt on human rights, by compromising with the restriction of military aid, the threat remained a word. When Trump fired Tillerson in 2018, and was succeeded by Mike Pompeo, the new secretary signed the continuation of military aid without guarantees or conditions, a paper Cairo eventually lost with Trump's exit from office.

In the end, Egypt found a way to the White House, despite President Biden ignoring Sisi for four months from the beginning of his rule, in an implicit message that reflected the depth of the differences with a country that has long formed a pillar of American alliances. During the recent confrontation between the Israeli occupation government and Hamas on the territory of the Gaza Strip, Cairo exploited its traditional role and played it in favor of reaching a truce between Israel and the resistance in the Gaza Strip, thus confirming its regional importance in general, and its centrality to Israel’s security on the Gaza side by having close contacts with Hamas and Israel at the same time. Indeed, there was no negotiator on the ground who could mediate at that time except the Egyptian delegation, which succeeded in concluding a truce that entered into force, coinciding with other negotiations to reach a long-term truce. The Egyptian diplomatic success led to Cairo giving even part of what it wanted from the American administration, and then two phone calls were made from Biden to Sisi in less than five days.However, this was not enough, as Egypt was looking forward to more than that.

Pilgrimage to Washington passes through Tel Aviv

Cairo's attempts to restore relations with the United States came in the interest of Israel and its new government, as Egypt took a pragmatic approach once again to extract its political goal by melting the snow between it and Washington.

According to a research paper published by the Israeli Research Institute of Tel Aviv University in October 2020, there is a clear interest that the Israeli state realizes in the continuation of the long-term strategic relations between Cairo and Washington, and that Egypt and the United States entering a collision course does not serve Tel Aviv’s agenda in the end, Which had previously mediated with the US administration during the era of President "Barack Obama", through pressure with the Israeli lobby, in favor of Cairo and its new regime that has been in place since 2013.

In parallel with Israel's keenness on Egyptian-American relations, Cairo moved through its intelligence to hold a meeting with Prime Minister "Naftali Bennett" before he went to the United States, and soon the fruits of this transformation and warmth towards the new Israeli government appeared. For example, Sisi congratulated his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, on assuming his new position, as well as on the occasion of the Hebrew New Year. On the other hand, the Egyptian-Israeli rapprochement cast a shadow over the Gaza Strip, so Egypt again put pressure on Hamas after the improvement of relations between them in the recent war. Cairo closed the Rafah crossing to the movement of goods and people for three days following the escalation launched by the resistance inside the Palestinian territories. As a result, an Israeli soldier and dozens of Palestinians were injured.

The closure of the Rafah crossing was linked to the tense political and field situation between Gaza and Israel, the failure of Cairo's efforts to mediate a long-term ceasefire, and the faltering efforts of reconciliation between Palestinian factions.

Israeli media reports stated that Egypt’s decision to close the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip was coordinated with Israel, due to Hamas’ refusal to prevent the factions from holding a festival near the eastern border of Gaza City, which led to confrontations that were suppressed by the occupation army stationed on the other side of the fence.

The Egyptian-Israeli understandings included overcoming the existing differences regarding the return of tourists to the Sinai.

Apparently, the recent deepening of Egyptian-Israeli relations, and Israel's realization that the Egyptian regime needs them, makes Egypt need to provide guarantees to the Hebrew state represented in stopping the Palestinian factions from launching rockets from Gaza towards the cover settlements, and making a diplomatic effort to release prisoners held by Hamas, In addition to the success of the settlement plan in which Egypt participates politically and economically through reconstruction efforts. Egypt stated that it would provide $500 million for the reconstruction of Gaza, and according to the Israeli newspaper "The Jerusalem Post", the Egyptian president pledged in the last meeting that he would work to prevent rocket fire from Gaza and weaken Hamas by raising the level of Egyptian monitoring of the Rafah crossing to prevent the flow of materials that It can be used for military purposes.

The Egyptian-Israeli understandings also included overcoming the existing disputes regarding the return of tourists to the Sinai, by re-operating flights between Israel and the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, which has been suspended since 2015. Egypt previously rejected Israel’s request for the presence of armed Israeli security forces on Egyptian soil to secure tourist groups.

But the three hours that brought together Sisi and Bennett resulted in a new decision to resume four direct weekly flights from Cairo to Tel Aviv early next month, via EgyptAir, for the first time in many years.

The road to Washington is not paved with roses

Months ago, Egypt found a way to Washington through its rapprochement with Hamas, and its success in pressuring Israel to accept a ceasefire, and then it won a call from Biden, who was keen to ignore the Egyptian regime after that.

However, the pragmatism of switching between siding with Hamas at times - as it includes scoring points at the popular level inside Egypt - and leaning towards Israel at other times - while reducing the frequency of media coverage of Bennett's visit - will not guarantee Cairo a permanent access to the heart of Washington.

The success of the Cairo mission appears to be linked to the achievement of major successes, the most important of which is reaching a formula for a permanent calm in the Gaza Strip, which has repeatedly proven that it will not be easy. Cairo, Tel Aviv and Hamas without a long-term solution in sight.

It is not expected that Israel will accept the condition of releasing the four prisoners, especially since they have caused the occupation a scandal that has not ended yet.

Israel wants to ensure that any deal includes the return of the remains of two soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war, the return of Israeli civilians held hostage in the Strip, and that the factions’ rockets stop bombing the occupied Israeli interior, and the last demand does not seem logical or feasible at the present time. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, escalated its threats, and demanded the release of the four prisoners - out of the six - whom the occupation re-arrested after escaping from Gilboa prison. Hamas has increasingly strengthened the connection between the Gaza file and the Palestinian cause in the rest of Palestine, especially after its success in positioning itself as a central Palestinian resistance faction during the last war, coinciding with the erosion of the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority and the outbreak of the 1948 Arab uprisings inside Israel.On the other hand, it is not expected that Israel will accept the condition of releasing the four prisoners, especially since they have caused the occupation a scandal that has not ended so far, and this new Hamas strategy will, of course, complicate the negotiations, especially as it kills Israel's continued policy of becoming the Palestinian cause. Besieged the Gaza Strip, a policy that was clearly undermined by the recent war.

Cairo knows that Bennett is ready to fight a new war on Gaza, even if it causes his government to fall, he said. However, the escalation and the return of the Egyptian diplomatic machine to work for an agreement from scratch does not bother Cairo, which knows how to constantly benefit from it, as much as the gap between it and Tel Aviv regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. During his meeting with Bennett, Sisi stressed his adherence to the two-state solution, It is a path that Bennett rejects altogether and in detail, like his predecessor Netanyahu, which will impede any possible path to a settlement, especially as the Gulf normalization train has led to the waning of the regional commitment to the two-state solution.

Egypt seeks to restore the momentum of the faltering relations with the United States, and wants to do so through the traditional American ally, an ally that it also wants to play a role in the issue of the Renaissance Dam. The Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website quoted Egyptian diplomatic sources as saying that the intelligence and diplomatic contacts between Cairo and Tel Aviv witnessed a discussion about reviving the mediation role that Tel Aviv might play in the issue of the Renaissance Dam, in coordination with the United States, coinciding with the approaching date of the third filling of the dam next summer. On the other hand, Egypt moved through its director of intelligence, who visited Lebanon early last month, and met leaders from Hezbollah - according to leaks - as part of a mission aimed at neutralizing Hezbollah from supporting Gaza in its conflict with Israel, in the hope that these moves would lead to the success of the negotiations that Egypt is preparing. Its actual gateway to Washington.

While Bennett's visit to Egypt, after his return from Washington, is an exceptional event at the political and diplomatic level, it represents, in turn, a popular burden after sympathizing with Gaza in its last war and appreciating the Egyptian role at the time, but the biggest burden for Egypt will be to make concessions in the file of freedoms, which It has made very few concessions so far, in parallel with its attempts to neutralize human rights pressure on it in Washington and not link it to military aid. In the background of this, relations between Biden and Sisi at the personal level remain calm and cool, and despite all of Cairo's moves, there are no strong indications towards a radical American change in this path that could restore relations to what they were under the Trump administration.