Bennett meets Egyptian intel chief in Jerusalem for discussions

Humanitarian aid to Gaza is likely high on Egyptian Intelligence head Abbas Kamel's agenda.

 Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with Egyptian Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Abbas Kamel (photo credit: KOBY GIDEON/GPO)
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with Egyptian Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Abbas Kamel
(photo credit: KOBY GIDEON/GPO)

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian Intelligence head Abbas Kamel in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Kamel is the first senior Egyptian official to meet with Bennett since he entered office.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said they "discussed diplomatic, security and economic aspects of Israel-Egypt relations.

"In addition, they discussed Egyptian mediation in the security situation with Gaza," the PMO stated.

Kamel also invited Bennett to visit Cairo in the coming weeks, in the name of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Kamel on Wednesday evening and discussed various security issues, including the need to maintain regional stability and to continue counterterrorism efforts.

Gantz thanked Kamel and Egyptian President al-Sisi for Egypt's positive role in the region as well. The defense minister also emphasized the importance of long-term peace on Israel's southern border and the need to return the Israelis being held by Hamas in Gaza.

The meetings took place two days after Hamas once again shot rockets into Israel, and amid the Gazan terrorist group's threats to start another war, three months after the last round of fighting, if aid does not reach the coastal enclave soon.

On Tuesday, Bennett said Israel will respond to Hamas rocket fire “in the time, place and conditions that suit us, and not anyone else,” Bennett said. “As far as we’re concerned, Hamas is to blame – not rebels or anyone else but Hamas."

Gantz said Israel will facilitate humanitarian aid funded by Qatar and others to the people of Gaza as long as it will “reach the right places.”


Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter


“We are not the enemies of the Gazan people,” Gantz stated. “The real enemy is Hamas, which is taking Gaza residents hostage.”

A source in Hamas claimed that Qatari aid money to over 100,000 families in Gaza would be delivered in the coming days, channeled through the UN.

However, a source close to Bennett said that there has been progress towards distributing funds to needy families in Gaza, but it has not been fully worked out yet. In addition, the payment of salaries to employees of the Hamas-controlled government in Gaza remains held up.

One reason for the delay, the source said, is that Israel wants there to be a clear paper trail, to ensure that it is not going to terrorists.

“It won’t be foolproof, but we want to be able to track what [Hamas is] doing with the money,” he stated.

An aid convoy's trucks loaded with supplies send by Long Live Egypt Fund are seen at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 23, 2021.  (credit: THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
An aid convoy's trucks loaded with supplies send by Long Live Egypt Fund are seen at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 23, 2021. (credit: THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

On Monday, Egypt rebuked the terrorist group after the firing of a rocket from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, Palestinians in the coastal enclave said.

Following the Egyptian warning, Palestinian factions called off a meeting that was planned for Monday night to discuss ways of responding to Israel’s failure to ease restrictions imposed on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians told The Jerusalem Post.

The factions were planning to announce a series of steps to pressure Israel, including resuming protests along the Gaza-Israel border and launching more arson balloons and explosive devices into the Jewish state.

The Egyptians are also planning to invite representatives of Hamas and other Palestinian factions to Cairo in the coming days to discuss the latest developments surrounding the situation in the Strip, including the possibility of reaching a prisoner-exchange agreement with Israel.