Egypt is reportedly moving forward with plans to hold a trilateral summit in an effort to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to arrange a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.
The delegation is reportedly led by Aviva Raz Shechter, the director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Middle East Division, as well as other high-ranking officials.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the last few days have seen “significant diplomatic efforts” that have been led by Egypt to organize a summit between Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Last week, El-Sisi said he saw a “real opportunity” for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and that such a deal would “give safety and stability to both sides. If this is achieved, we will enter a new phase that perhaps no one can imagine now.”
As opposed to a separate French initiative that seeks to involve the international community and exclude Israeli or Palestinian representatives, Netanyahu has said that he welcomes El-Sisi’s plan for direct talks and his “willingness to invest every effort to advance a future of peace and security between us and the Palestinians.”