VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yair Lapid paid an official visit to Egypt Thursday 9 December 2021. Quoting the Israeli Foreign Ministry, AFP reported that one of the important talks on the agenda of the meeting was strengthening bilateral relations, especially in the security sector.

Minister Lapid's visit is a follow-up of Israel's foreign policy to strengthen Israel-Egypt relations for regional stability.

The meeting in the security sector has not brought about a concrete agreement, yet. Both Israel and Egypt need to formulate a strong strategy and find solutions to the emerging issues discussed at the meeting, particularly the issue of hostages and the bodies of Israelis  detained by the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

According to Minister Lapid, Israel has an economic recovery plan for Gaza. This is expected to end the frequent rocket attacks by Hamas against Israel. It seems that the issue of settlement construction carried out continouesly by Israelis in the Palestinian territories was not discussed at the meeting.

Egypt has indeed been Israel's main mediator with Hamas. Minister Lapid's visit may be an important step that is expected to consolidate stability and peace in the Middle East, and reach a permanent solution for the Palestinian struggle to become a fully sovereign state.

If Israel is seriously committed to restoring Gaza's economy, significant concrete steps are needed towards an era of security and prosperity as well as an expansion of the scope of strong cooperation in various fields. Egypt's role as a mediator in the Israel-Gaza conflict is highly awaited.