The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said on Tuesday that he postponed a rare visit to Egypt at the request of Egyptian officials.
The visit was originally scheduled to begin on Sunday but is now planned for mid-October, Mr. Huckabee said in an interview.
Egypt has been one of the main mediators in talks to end the Gaza war, and Mr. Huckabee said that the purpose of his trip would be “building dialogue, trust and understanding.” He did not give further details on his agenda, and Egypt’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, President Trump stood alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at a Washington news conference and presented a cease-fire plan for Gaza. The proposal, which outlined steps to end the war and rebuild the territory afterward, was endorsed by a number of Arab and Muslim-majority countries, including Egypt.
Egypt, the most populous Arab state, has long been an important U.S. ally in the Arab world, regarded by successive administrations as vital to regional stability. While tensions over the country’s poor human rights record and its warm ties with Russia have strained relations with the United States, Egypt has consistently remained among the largest recipients of American military assistance, along with Israel.
President Trump and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt had a warm rapport during Mr. Trump’s first term, which included two visits to the White House by the Egyptian leader.
Mr. el-Sisi has yet to meet with Mr. Trump since the U.S. president returned to office, though the two have spoken by phone.
Israel and Egypt, former enemies that fought multiple wars, signed a peace treaty in 1979. But the war in Gaza has raised tensions between the two.
Egypt has criticized Israel’s recent ground assault on Gaza City, which has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee the city. Egypt is concerned that the fighting could push large numbers of Gazans across its borders.
Israeli news media have recently reported that Israeli officials raised concerns in Washington about an Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian government said in a statement that its troops are stationed there to defend Egypt’s borders against all threats, denying Israel’s claim that the deployment violated the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries.
Vivian Yee contributed reporting from Berlin.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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