Egypt and Israel are far from normalization despite close military cooperation

Egypt and Israel are far from normalization despite the “close” military cooperation between the two countries, Zvi Bar’el writes for Haaretz (paywall). President Abdel Fattah El Sisi confirmed in a 60 Minutes interview broadcasted last week that Cairo and Tel Aviv have been cooperating in Egypt’s anti-terror campaign in Sinai, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lobbied the US Congress to prevent military aid cuts to Egypt, Bar’el says. However, there remains “an abyss … between the military cooperation and normalization,” but the perks Israel has to gain from full normalization are “negligible compared to the military cooperation.”