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Netanyahu had secret meeting with Sisi over Gaza

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held a secret meeting in Egypt on 22 May to discuss a long term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Details of the meeting were reported last night on Israel’s Channel 10 News and according to the report, most of the Israeli Security Cabinet were not made aware of the  discussions.

US officials told Channel 10 News that Netanyahu and Sisi discussed a long term ceasefire deal for Gaza that involved easing the Israeli and Egyptian blockade, construction of critical infrastructure, an agreement to return bodies of Israeli soldiers and Israeli captives and establishing Palestinian Authority (PA) rule in Gaza. Sisi apparently urged Netanyahu not to insist on full demilitarisation of Gaza as a precondition to a long term deal. Netanyahu and Sisi also discussed a plan to coordinate with the international community and Sunni Arab states to put pressure on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to make arrangements to govern Gaza.

Yesterday, in a statement following a meeting with senior military officers in the IDF Southern Command, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “The question of the next round of fighting is not an ‘if,’ but a ‘when.’ I am sure that we will do what we must, how we must.”

Today, Lieberman will meet with senior defence officials to discuss whether to ease some of the restrictions Israel has imposed on Gaza. The meeting will discuss  reopening the Kerem Shalom border crossing and the expanding of the fishing zone off the Gaza coast.