Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speaks during a news conference as he meets with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

I24 News – Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke by telephone on Saturday with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.

The move is yet another sign of warming ties between Jerusalem and Cairo, less than a week after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Egypt, where his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu had not visited since 2011.

“Our conversation was warm and friendly,” said Lapid. “We have a common desire to strengthen the ties between our two countries as well as economic cooperation.”

The Israeli minister also clarified that the exchange had focused on the “economy for security” plan for the Gaza Strip, which he presented last week.

Last Sunday, Lapid proposed a plan to improve the living conditions of Gazans in exchange for a long-term truce with Hamas.

The plan, which has yet to be approved by the new Israeli coalition government, is not aimed at settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but at “acting now” to “improve” living conditions in the Gaza Strip and to “create better conditions for future talks,” said Lapid during his presentation of the initiative at a conference on security in Jerusalem.