The Tripartite Summit of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President of Egypt and Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates: Dr. Eddie Cohen, Mizrahi, Israeli journalist and senior researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, discussed this with Yinon Magal and Yariv Oppenheimer -103FM, and analyzed the significance of the event.
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In his opening remarks, Cohen stated: “This is a really very important meeting. We are going to discuss a variety of things there, from the Iranian nuclear program, to the relations between the Gulf states and the United States, which are now very bad relations, including the war between Russia and Ukraine. Egypt needs wheat, Egypt needs the US, the US wants Egypt’s support for the Ukrainians. There are all kinds of concerns, there are a lot of things that will be discussed there. There are at least three or four issues that are going to be discussed – also on the issue of oil, also the issue of the front vis-à-vis Iran.
“Syrian President Assad was in the UAE last week, what did he do there? Al-Sisi also paid a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia a few days ago. There are a lot of things under the ground, while the war continues in Europe. “
In response, Magal said: “I think the person who received Bennett at the airport is not al-Sisi.”
Cohen referred to this and explained that there is a recurring pattern of action by Arab states towards Israel during political visits: “Every time I see the Israeli leaders how they are humiliated, I am really boiling from within. When Lapid was in Egypt, he was not accepted by the foreign minister either. When Bennett was in the UAE, neither did the UAE leader accept him. Always lower a level or two levels. All over the world, the equivalent should come. If you are a president, a president should come to receive you. If you are the foreign minister, the foreign minister should accept you. Bennett has consultants. This is agreed in advance.
“Yesterday when the leader of the UAE arrived he was received by al-Sisi. When Bennett arrived, al-Sisi did not bother to reach the airport, which was 12 minutes from his palace.
“Bennett’s bureau had to say who gets him at the airport. Need to work on it. We are in the Middle East, enough to think like Europeans. Get me right, damn it, what am I asking for? “We sell gas to Egypt, we helped them in the war on terror, there is intelligence sharing.”
He was later asked by Oppenheimer what the Egyptians wanted from Israel.
“They want mediation, they want money,” he replied. “He (al-Sisi) knows how to take money from the Saudis and take money alone from the UAE, but he wants us to help him take money from Biden. He says, ‘I will support Ukraine but I want you to bring me wheat, I want money, the price has gone up.’ The Egyptians want, money, wheat and compensation. “There are hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists who will not come next year following his support for Ukraine, if and when, and it seems to me that he does support Ukraine.”
Oppenheimer replied: “What is happening with Egypt and also with Jordan, in my opinion, is a great honor for the State of Israel, including the fact that the prime minister stayed to sleep there, and the flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, the public warming with relations with Egypt is respectful.”
Cohen cooled the enthusiasm: “These are obvious things. The left is enthusiastic about every word with the Arab world. Also do not get too excited. Show them that everything is normal. “