The gas deal: does it pave the way for a el-Sisi–Netanyahu meeting?

18th December 2025

3 minutes read

The gas deal: does it pave the way for a el-Sisi–Netanyahu meeting?

Israeli media outlets have revealed efforts by US President Donald Trump to arrange a trilateral summit bringing together himself, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Should the Egyptian president agree to take part in such a meeting, the tentative date would be toward the end of the current month, particularly as Trump is already scheduled to meet Netanyahu in Florida on December 29.

In Israel, observers are linking Netanyahu’s approval, under American pressure, of a 35-billion-dollar gas export deal to Egypt with the possible convening of this trilateral summit.

However, it appears that Netanyahu may have to pay a higher political price to repair relations with Egypt, which have significantly deteriorated in recent years, especially since the war in Gaza more than two years ago.

Israel’s public broadcaster stated that “the deal opens the door to a possible meeting between Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the end of the month in Florida”.

Meanwhile, Yedioth Ahronoth wrote that “this announcement, namely the gas deal, paves the way for a trilateral summit involving Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egyptian officials had conditioned Sisi’s participation on his approval of the gas agreement, and the three leaders are expected to meet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort”.

In the same context, Israel’s Channel 12 News revealed that “the Trump administration had pressured Netanyahu for several weeks to approve the deal as part of its efforts to improve relations with Egypt after the Gaza war”.

It added that “the White House informed Netanyahu that it would seek to help arrange a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, provided that he agreed to the gas deal”.

The channel noted that “Netanyahu and Sisi have not spoken since the war began, and relations between Israel and Egypt are extremely strained”.

It also explained that “Sisi approved the gas agreement last July despite domestic and international criticism, but the Israeli government delayed it for five months”.

After Netanyahu ratified the deal, a US official said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for Israel. Selling gas to Egypt will create interdependence between the two countries, bring them closer together, contribute to deeper peace, and prevent the outbreak of war”.

The Israeli channel further reported that “Netanyahu is keen to hold a trilateral meeting with el-Sisi and Trump at the end of the month at the Mar-a-Lago resort”.

It added, however, that “so far, the Egyptians are not showing much enthusiasm for such a meeting unless Israel takes additional steps to implement the Gaza ceasefire agreement”.

For its part, The Jerusalem Post wrote that “the long-awaited gas deal was a necessary concession to enable a trilateral meeting between Egypt, the United States, and Israel, expected to take place at the end of the month”.

The newspaper added that “el-Sisi also demanded that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, along the Gaza–Egypt border, and the Netzarim Corridor in the northern Gaza Strip”.

As of 11:45 GMT, no official comment had been issued by Cairo regarding the reports published by the Israeli media.