14 days: Sharm Summit

• Published date: 27 September 2021
• Author: STEVE LINDE
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Sharm e-Sheikh on September 13 to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. "Israel is increasingly opening up to the countries of the region, and the basis of this longstanding recognition is the peace between Israel and Egypt," said Bennett, the first Israeli leader to pay an official visit to Egypt since his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, met former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 in the same Sinai resort. Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli announced that the Taba Crossing between the borders of Egypt and Israel was returning to full operation – with no limit on entry permits. EgyptAir, the national airline of Egypt, was set to begin direct flights between Cairo and Tel Aviv from October.

BIDEN's POLICY

In an address to the UN General Assembly on September 21, US President Joe Biden urged Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, voiced support for Israel's security and said that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the best way to ensure that Israel remains a democratic Jewish state. "We're a long way from this goal at the moment, but we should never allow ourselves to give up on the possibility of progress," Biden said. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives passed a bill in a 420-9 vote to provide a billion dollars in funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system on September 24 after a delay caused by the so-called Squad of progressives in the Democratic Party caused alarm in Israel.

PRISONERS NABBED

Read More...

Israeli security forces on September 19 captured the last two of the six Palestinian security prisoners who escaped from the Gilboa Prison almost two weeks before. The IDF said that Islamic Jihad members Munadil Nafayat and Eham Kamamji were apprehended in the West Bank city of Jenin in an early-morning operation conducted jointly with the police counter-terrorism unit and the Shin Bet. Prime Minister Bennett praised the heads of security services, saying, "The event started with a major mishap but you mobilized with joint forces until the mission was completed."

BUILDING COLLAPSE

An apartment building in Holon collapsed on September 12, a day after Fire and Rescue...