Sisi conditions Netanyahu visit to Egypt on support for two-state solution: report

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reportedly requested Netanyahu to commit to the two-state solution while also making a “positive statement” on the Palestinian issue, according to a report by Axios.

This comes as the Israeli premier continues to engage in discussions to arrange a visit to the Egyptian capital, which analysts believe could provide him an opportunity ahead of upcoming elections.

“Sisi doesn’t care so much about the Palestinian issue but he knows Netanyahu is looking for a photo-op for his election campaign and is trying to get a diplomatic achievement for Egypt out of it," a source told Axios.

The visit would mark the second such official trip by Netanyahu, who was last in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh more than a decade ago under Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

However, Netanyahu has made several unofficial and covert visits to Egypt since then, the report adds.

In December, Israel Hayom newspaper revealed  Egypt’s Sisi invited Netanyahu to Cairo for an official visit, with diplomatic sources in Cairo telling The New Arab's Arabic-language service a month earlier that the visit has been on the cards for weeks.

The main issue has been been whether to officially announce the visit, the sources said at the time.

According to Axios, the trip was scheduled for January but was postponed.

“When talks resumed the Egyptians made the request for a goodwill gesture on the Palestinian issue in the context of the visit,” the report says, citing Israeli sources.

However, sources close to Netanyahu denied knowledge of any condition for the visit and said the matter was not raised during Egyptian intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel’s visit to Jerusalem last week.

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