U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is expected to visit Cairo in the coming days for talks with senior Egyptian officials, the U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Jerusalem told The New York Times on Saturday. The visit comes amid strained relations between Israel and Egypt over the war in the Gaza Strip.
Three officials in the United States and the Middle East told the newspaper that the talks will focus on the Gaza war, and that it will be the first official visit to Egypt by a sitting U.S. ambassador to Israel in decades. Huckabee is expected to meet, among others, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
The officials said Huckabee is expected to address the tensions between the two countries, and two of them added that the discussions will also cover the new American plan for ending the war in Gaza, which President Donald Trump presented to Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Egypt, which receives significant U.S. military aid, has not yet clarified what role will be played by U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg, who was appointed during the Biden administration.
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US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will travel to Cairo to meet with authorities there
(Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
Egypt has criticized the Israeli military operation launched this month in Gaza City, which until recently was home to nearly 1 million Palestinians, expressing concern that the fighting could force hundreds of thousands of Gazans across the Egyptian border into the Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli officials have recently voiced concerns to Washington about Egypt’s military buildup in Sinai, which borders both Israel and Gaza. The Egyptian government said last week, responding to reports of troop increases at the border, that “the forces are in Sinai to defend the state’s borders against any threats.” Cairo also rejected Israel’s claim that the deployments constituted a violation of the peace treaty between the two countries.
Abdelatty delivered a sharply worded address at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday evening, condemning Israel for the Gaza war and warning of wider regional instability. “Israel is waging a brutal war against civilians in Gaza,” he said. “The credibility of the international system is eroding due to violations of international law. The Middle East is on the verge of explosion. We look at the situation in the region with concern and with responsibility.”
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty addresses the UN General Assembly
(Photo: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters)
He added: “The hunger in Gaza must end. We reject any scenario of the displacement of the Palestinian people.” Abdelatty stressed that Egypt “was not and will not be the gateway for liquidating the Palestinian issue” and warned against “a new Nakba.” He said that the "hand of Israeli aggression has reached country after country in the region and recently Qatar. Force must be stopped. The ongoing occupation and denial of the Palestinian people’s rights empty all discourse on security and peace of meaning. Israel cannot enjoy security when others have none. The region cannot enjoy stability without a Palestinian state.”
The foreign minister concluded with a direct warning: “We warn against the continuation of Israel’s reckless policies, which shut the door on the hopes of the peoples of the region for peaceful coexistence. Our hand is extended for peace, and President al-Sissi affirms that peace is our strategic choice.”