Egypt Receives 95 Smuggled Artifacts from Israel

On Thursday, Israel handed over to Egypt 95 artifacts that had been smuggled into the country or found for sale in Jerusalem.

It said it was returning the items "at the request of Egyptian authorities and as a gesture of goodwill" during a rare visit by Israel's foreign minister to Cairo.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid in Cairo, in addition to officials of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Israel Antiquities Authority were present, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez on his official Twitter account.

Shoukry received his Israeli counterpart this morning as part of Egypt’s role and its ongoing efforts to revive the peace track, as well as to discuss issues of bilateral relations, Hafez said.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also met with the Israeli Foreign Minister in Cairo-based Presidential Palace, on Thursday, discussing the bilateral relations and the Palestinian-Israeli cause, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, said Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi in a statement.