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The White House is considering a summit between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Channel 12 reported, as Washington seeks to advance a regional economic strategy while pressing Israel to approve a stalled gas export deal with Cairo.
According to the channel, Washington is tying the summit to Netanyahu’s approval of the strategic gas export deal to Egypt, in addition to other economic steps considered incentives for the Egyptian president.
Netanyahu had issued a directive last September preventing the advancement of the gas deal with Egypt without his direct approval, despite the agreement having been signed Aug. 7 between the Israeli companies Ratio and NewMed Energy, both owned by the Delek Group, and the Egyptian energy company Blue Ocean Energy.
The deal stipulates the sale of 130 billion cubic meters of gas to Cairo through 2040, in exchange for approximately $35 billion.
Channel 12 reported that the Trump administration aims to pull Israel out of regional isolation by promoting a diplomatic economic plan involving Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia, alongside efforts to secure a lasting Gaza cease-fire.
The United States sees economic diplomacy as the most effective way to reopen communication with Arab states, starting with Egypt. A U.S. official said gas sales to Cairo could deepen mutual dependence and help prevent conflict.
The channel added that adviser Jared Kushner urged Netanyahu to offer economic opportunities in the postwar period, saying Arab states want business, not repeated rhetoric about Iran, and that Israel must return to “the language of economics” to integrate into the region.
According to the Hebrew channel, Kushner emphasized the need for Israel to develop effective tools for economic diplomacy and to involve the private sector, leveraging its capabilities in technology, artificial intelligence, gas, renewable energy and water.
He also recommended that Israel begin with Egypt, given Cairo’s pivotal role in shaping the Gaza ceasefire agreement and its efforts that resulted in the recovery of the bodies of 27 Israelis from the Strip.
The channel quoted a U.S. official as saying, “The Egyptians have demonstrated genuine commitment on the Gaza file.”
Nevertheless, Channel 12 notes that the path to the success of the U.S. plan remains complicated. Despite Netanyahu informing Kushner of his desire to meet with Sisi, the Egyptian president continues to reject the idea of such a meeting. The channel quoted an Israeli source as saying that “no serious strategic communications have taken place between the two countries over the past two years.”
Tel Aviv claims that Cairo has, in recent months, violated the security annex of the 1979 peace treaty, signed after the Camp David Accords, which ended the state of war, mandated Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai and regulated the size and deployment of Egyptian forces in the area.
According to the Israeli allegations, Cairo has in recent years deployed infantry units and armored vehicles exceeding the permitted limits, expanded airport runways and built infrastructure, including tunnels capable of storing weapons, without obtaining prior Israeli approval.
These developments prompted Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yehiel Leiter, to urge the Trump administration to reactivate oversight by the U.S.-led Multinational Force and Observers (MFO).
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