Netanyahu, Herzog Secretly Met With Egypt’s Sisi in Cairo

Local Editor

In the light of ongoing shameful normalizations with the "Israeli" entity, it had been revealed that the Aqaba summit in February 2016 between Benjamin Netanyahu, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, then-US Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordan's King Abdullah II was not the only meeting between the "Israeli" prime minister and the Egyptian president.

In April of that year, at the height of global efforts to create a so-called regional peace plan, Netanyahu and Knesset opposition chairman Isaac Herzog flew secretly to Cairo for a meeting with Sisi at the presidential palace. That meeting, disclosed here for the first time, took place in the context of then-secret contacts over the possibility of Herzog's party, Zionist Union, joining the coalition.

As Netanyahu was assumed to be politically unable to lead a real "peace" process, namely due to his right wing coalition partners, international and regional powers reached out to Herzog through various channels. They told him that due to the new circumstances, a change in the right-wing coalition was critical for the regional initiative's success.

Herzog, who is again fighting off challengers to his party leadership, said in meetings with party members that he understood that there was a chance for a dramatic regional move, and that he had heard from the parties involved that without Zionist Union the chances of success were nil. Before that, Netanyahu had also reported to him on the issues discussed at the Aqaba summit.

In February this year, Barak Ravid reported on the four-way Aqaba summit in Haaretz, as well as the plan for a regional peace initiative that included recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and the renewal of negotiations with the support of Arab states.

Herzog, having been burned in previous negotiations over joining the coalition said in conversations with various leaders [he told a parlor meeting he met with Arab leaders "whom no ‘Israeli' has ever seen," meaning not only Sisi], they told him they hoped he would help Netanyahu to overcome the political obstacles in his path.

Netanyahu, advisers, Herzog and a security team flew directly to Cairo at night, from an airfield in central "Israel", in a private plane, and were brought to the presidential palace. Sisi pressured them to take the measures needed to advance the process forward. They returned to the "Israeli" entity, arriving before dawn.

According to Haaretz, it learned about the Cairo meeting from a figure who is not currently in politics and is not connected in any way to Herzog.

benjamin netanyahu | isaac herzog | abdelfattah el sisi | israel | egypt | normalization

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team