During their tripartite summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan discussed Syria's return to the Arab League and the ramifications of such a development for Israel and the region. The issue rose to the forefront on Friday following Syrian President Bashar Assad's historic visit to the United Arab Emirates – his first visit to an Arab country since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011 – where he met with al-Nahyan.
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In Sharm el-Sheikh, the three leaders exchanged details regarding Assad's visit to the UAE and the motivations behind it, and new information was provided that will impact Jerusalem's position on the matter. Israel's political and security echelon haven't formulated a position on the issue of accepting Assad – who is persona non grata in the West – as a legitimate player in the region.
Israel shares the widely held moral stance that rejects Assad as a legitimate leader. With that, Israel's supreme interest is the removal of Iranian forces from Syria. Israel's excellent relations with the UAE in general, and the warm personal relationship between Bennett and al-Nahyan in particular, could facilitate coordinated activity on this matter. The position adopted by Egypt, which is a key member of the Arab League, will also carry considerable weight. It should be noted that the United States was livid over Assad's visit to the UAE, adding to the tensions between the two countries.
It should also be noted that Israel's potential approach to Assad is still in the very early stages of being decided. The political echelon views Assad's possible return to the family of Arab nations as a dramatic historic development but has not yet determined how it would respond.
The unprecedented summit between Bennett, el-Sissi, and al-Nahyan also touched on other regional and international issues and discussed bilateral and trilateral cooperation. They discussed the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, specifically wheat prices – a matter of particular concern to Egypt.
The leaders also addressed the Biden administration's desire to sign a nuclear deal with Iran and its intention to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its blacklist of terrorist organizations. The leaders expressed their concern that such a move would only obligate Iran not to target Americans.
The Israeli premier also presented his vision for a regional defense alliance against Iran, saying it should be established whether a nuclear deal is signed or not.
As for Israeli-Egyptian relations, Bennett and el-Sissi discussed launching direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sharm el-Sheikh, in light of the steep prices charged by Israeli airlines. The Palestinian issue was also reviewed but was limited in scope to civilian-economic issues.
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