CAIRO, Jan 4 (Aswat Mariya) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed on Sunday the arrival of the new Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv as move that will “further strengthen relations” between the two coutries. 

“I welcome his arrival; I welcome the re-stationing of an Egyptian ambassador in Israel, which will enable us to further strengthen relations with this important and key Arab country,” Netanyahu said in his remarks at the Israeli cabinet’s weekly meeting.

The Egyptian foreign ministry announced on Sunday that Egypt decided to return its ambassador to Tel Aviv after a three-year hiatus.

In Nov. 2012, then-Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group, recalled the Egyptian ambassador in protest to Israeli attack on Gaza that left scores killed and wounded.

Mursi was ousted by the military in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule. 

The new Egyptian ambassador, Hazem Khairat, arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday. 

Khairat previously served as Egypt’s representative to the Arab League and ambassador to Chile.

The Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abouzeid said that the decision to return the ambassador comes “in the framework of supporting the Palestine issue and the role that Egypt looks forward to play, as this would lead to coordinating stances and passing messages between various sides.”

Abouzeid added that Egypt’s newly assumed membership in the Security Council could enable the return of negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, although “there are no specific proposals or initiatives for restoring the peace process to its normal path at present.”