Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar visited Cairo Aug. 21 and met with the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel. The visit came on the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Egypt, following Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raids in the West Bank city of Nablus.
Israel did not foresee this rise of tensions. In fact, many in Israel’s security system believed that the quick ending of Operation Breaking Dawn in Gaza Aug. 7 would reinforce the already strong cooperation between Jerusalem and Cairo. In reality, things developed differently. When Operation Breaking Dawn ended, Israel shifted its military efforts, focusing on arresting West Bank Palestinians suspected in supporting terrorist acts and groups. These recent Israeli raids and arrests of Palestinians in the West Bank greatly angered Cairo.
From the moment Israel started its recent wave of West Bank arrests contact between senior levels in Israel and Egypt were broken off, and only the tactical levels in the field are continuing security cooperation. In light of these severed relations, Kamel's planned visit to Israel has been canceled.
The broken ties between Cairo and Jerusalem followed a decade of closer relations between the countries, especially after the Abraham Accords and the peace process Israel has pursued with moderate Arab states. In recent years, Egypt has acted as the main mediator between Israel and terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. Even two weeks ago, during Operation Breaking Dawn, it served as a central mediator and brought Israel and Islamic Jihad to cease fighting after three days.
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