On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to call Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, only to be refused. Apparently Netanyahu made the call through the National Security Council, but the Egyptians chose not to accept it.
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The Prime Minister's office tried to play things down, claiming the call will be made at a later time. It's worth noting the last time the two spoke was in the summer of last year, following an attack by a rogue Egyptian soldier who killed three IDF troops at the border.
Regardless, the two nations are on regular speaking terms, with numerous Israeli delegations traveling to Egypt in recent weeks, amid Egyptian mediation efforts alongside Qatar to secure a hostage release deal. Major General Ghassan Alian, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, (COGAT) has been in Cairo several times as of late.
The failed phone call attempt by Netanyahu could be related to recent tensions from the Egyptian side, increasingly agitated by Israeli statements regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, the stretch of land along the Gaza border with Egypt that Israel said it seeks military control of, as well as Israeli allegations to the Hague claiming the Egyptians stalled the delivery of humanitarian aid into southern Gaza.
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Palestinian man stands next to a truck carrying clothes for export, at Kerem Shalom crossing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,
(Photo: Reuters)
"Egypt isn't the reason aid isn't getting through, President al-Sisi said in response. "The Rafah Crossing is open 24/7, but Israeli procedures are stalling much-needed aid, and not by accident. It's an Israeli tactic to exert more pressure to release the hostages."
Chairman of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, warned of possible repercussions to Israeli-Egyptian relations if military action on the Gaza-Egypt border is taken. "Any Israeli move in this directions will inevitably compromise bilateral relations. Israel's lies are designed to legitimize occupation in direct conflict with international agreements," he said.