Cairo is set to announce that Israel and Hamas will soon resume talks for a long-term ceasefire as well as the resumption of negotiations for a prisoner exchange deal and Gaza's reconstructions, according to a report in the Riyadh-based Al Arabiya news channel.

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Sources that spoke with the outlet emphasized the Egyptian efforts would focus on a comprehensive ceasefire for all of the Palestinian territories as well as the transfer of funds to the PA in the near future.

The report further noted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan's King Abdullah II Thursday came at a time when the international community was enlisting to rehabilitate Gaza, and the tripartite meeting was aimed at efforts toward reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and setting out a timeline for efforts to that end.

At Thursday's meeting, the regional leaders discussed the two-state solution to the conflict with Israel and said the Palestinians have a right to an independent state, with east Jerusalem as its capital, according to a statement from el-Sissi's office.

"We very much welcome the meeting of these three leaders," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "We hope it will lead to a positive outcome and a regain of traction of diplomacy in the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict."

Egypt, which has played a key mediation role between Israel and Hamas over the years, mediated a truce between the two sides following the 11-day conflict in May.

In recent weeks, stakeholders have stepped up their diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing another military outburst in the region. The office of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has recently said that he will be visiting Egypt "soon" to hold talks with el-Sissi.

Last week after Bennett met with US President Joe Biden in Washington, Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Abbas in Ramallah. Those talks signaled a possible shift after the near-complete breakdown in communication between Abbas and Israeli leaders in recent years.

The meeting was followed by the Israeli announcement of a series of gestures aimed at strengthening the Palestinian Authority, including plans to loan $150 million to the cash-strapped autonomy government in the West Bank.

Last month, Abbas Kamel, Egypt's intelligence chief, paid a rare visit to Israel to discuss conditions for a long-lasting ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Kamel also traveled to the West Bank to meet with Abbas.

In Thursday's talks, the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders also renewed their support of Abbas, warning of the "dangerous repercussions" of the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the demolition of Palestinian houses, and the confiscation of land properties, read the statement. For his part, el-Sissi stressed that the establishment of a Palestinian state requires the unification of all Palestinian factions.

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Plans to raise the price of bread for the first time in 44 years have shocked Egyptians already struggling to get by in a country where state-subsidized loaves have kept the poorest fed since the 1960s.

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In declaring this week that it was time to hike bread prices, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi aims to curb an expensive subsidy program that serves some two-thirds of Egypt's 100 million people and has helped keep political dissent at bay.

Some 30% of Egyptians fall beneath the government's poverty line, with incomes below 857 pounds ($54.73) a month. Many do not have access to running water or sanitation.

The minimum monthly wage is 2,400 pounds ($153) but that is sometimes not paid in the informal sector, where roughly two-thirds of Egyptians work. Joblessness was at 7.2% at the end of last year and has been chronically higher among young people.

However, economists have said for years that Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, and the Arab world's most populous country, must rein in subsidies to modernize its economy.

Bread subsidies now weigh ever heavier on the budget as supply jitters have driven up global wheat prices during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bread subsidies were set at nearly 45 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.9 billion), just over half of the food subsidy bill, for the fiscal year ending in June. This amounts to roughly 1.8% of overall state spending.

"It is time for the 5-piaster (0.32 US cent) loaf to increase in price," Sisi said during televised remarks at the opening of a food production plant on Tuesday, referring to a round 90-gram loaf known as 'eish baladi.'

Sisi said he hoped the news would not be poorly received and that the government was not planning a big increase. "It's incredible to sell 20 loaves for the price of a cigarette," he said.

The government has already pared back subsidies on electricity and fuel, ushering in annual increases in their price since 2016 as part of market reforms linked to financing from the International Monetary Fund.

Egyptian governments have long exercised caution when it comes to the price of bread, which in Egyptian colloquial speech derives its name from the Arabic word for 'life.'

An attempt in 1977 by then-President Anwar Sadat to increase bread prices set off deadly riots across Egypt that did not subside until the decision was rescinded.

Sisi's government has been gradually laying the ground for change, however, notably by rolling out cash transfer programs that better channel state subsidies to the neediest.

"There's been a long softening-up process for this step, including the reductions in the weight of the loaf from 130g to 110g and then to 90g last August," said David Butter, an analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House.

"So the message that the 5p loaf is not sacrosanct has been out there for some time."

Some calculations suggest that simply doubling the price to 10 piasters could save up to 4 billion pounds a year, he said.

Hassan Mohammadi, head of the Bakeries Division at the Grain Chamber of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, said the decision was overdue: "People eat the front and leave the back, and they use it as fodder for birds and livestock," he said, suggesting a 100g loaf should be sold at 10 piasters.

What this means for the poor – for whom the state-subsidized loaf, accompanied by whatever else they can afford, represents a meal – is the heart of the matter for Sheikh Ibrahim Radwan, a preacher in a mosque in the Nile Delta city of Kafr El-Sheikh north of Cairo.

"Mr. President, the poor man gets anything simple [to eat] with subsidized bread. We cannot dispense with that or afford any increase in the cost," Radwan said, addressing Sisi.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to depart for a state visit to Egypt in the coming days at the request of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, officials in Cairo have confirmed to Israel Hayom. The official visit will be the first by an Israeli prime minister to the country in over 10 years.

Netanyahu is expected to discuss a series of regional issues with the Egyptian leader, chief among them bolstering security and diplomatic ties in light of the Iranian threat and coordinating positions between Jerusalem and Cairo ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's entry into the White House.

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Netanyahu and el-Sissi are also expected to discuss the possibility of renewing talks between Israel and the Palestinians as well as efforts by mediators in the Egyptian intelligence services to achieve a deal for the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptians said the government was concerned a Biden administration would be hostile to Cairo and that it would sign onto a new nuclear deal with Iran that would undermine regional stability. The officials further said that Cairo placed great importance on the Abraham Accords as well as the regional alliance being forged between Israel and other moderate Sunni Arab states and Sudan.

A senior Egyptian Foreign Ministry official told Israel Hayom that should the Egyptian and Israeli leaders meet, the expectation was that Netanyahu would receive an official state welcome.

"If Netanyahu's planned visit to Egypt does take place, President el-Sissi will greet him at the airport with Egyptian and Israeli flags waving alongside one another," he said.

According to the officials, the two leaders were set to meet in either Cairo or Sharm El-Sheikh.

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