The White House is attempting to organize a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a US official and Israeli source with knowledge of the matter.
The two leaders have not officially met since before the start of the Israel-Hamas War, the report noted.
However, they held a phone call shortly before October's peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post.
Still, Netanyahu must approve a strategic gas deal with Egypt and take other steps to persuade Sisi to meet with him, US officials told the outlet.
"This is a huge opportunity for Israel. Selling gas to Egypt will create interdependence, get the countries closer together, create a warmer peace, and prevent war," a US official told Axios.
Jared Kushner reportedly told Netanyahu that with the war winding down, Israel needs to show regional partners that it has more to offer than a negative agenda, a US official told Axios.
Kushner emphasized that regional countries "do not want to talk about Iran all the time, but rather to explore business opportunities," and that "if Israel wants to fit in the region, it needs to go back to speaking that language," the official claimed.
"Jared told Bibi that Israel needs to develop economic diplomacy muscle and get the private sector involved in the peace process. He explained how when the Qataris, Saudis, or Emiratis come to Washington, they bring business delegations because they are focused on deals," the official said.
Israel should leverage its tech and artificial intelligence sectors, natural gas resources, and expertise in renewable energy and water to boost its regional diplomacy, the official added.
"The Egyptians have really shown commitment to help in Gaza," an American official said, with Axios noting that Kushner proposed to Netanyahu that he should start with Egypt.
Netanyahu unable to join Trump at Sisi's summit in Egypt, PM tells US leader
Netanyahu was initially invited to join the peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in October, but told US President Donald Trump that he would be unable to attend due to "the timing being close to the start of the holiday," the Prime Minister's Office said at the time.
Later in October, the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, visited Jerusalem and met with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
Two days after the meeting, both sides signaled renewed efforts to turn months of back-channel security coordination into a blueprint for Gaza’s “day after,” and to reset brittle Egypt–Israel ties.
Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Giorgia Valente/The Media Line contributed to this report.