CAIRO: Egypt was holding talks with Hamas officials on Sunday aimed at brokering a ceasefire in Gaza ahead of further negotiations with Israeli officials on Monday, an Egyptian official said.
“A meeting is taking place with a Hamas delegation and talks will resume tomorrow with the Israelis, said Ismail Khart, head of Egypt’s State Information Service.
The talks are aimed at “obtaining a ceasefire based on the Egyptian initiative to end the war in Gaza, he said.
Senior Israeli defence official Amos Gilad is in charge of negotiating with Egypt on an eventual ceasefire. Gilad was in Cairo for initial talks on the Egyptian truce plan on Thursday.
“A ceasefire is very important, we cannot put the parties to negotiations as long as the fighting is continuing, said Khart.
The Egyptian plan seeks to meet Israel’s requirement of preventing weapons going to Gaza through Egyptian tunnels and Hamas’ demand for a reopening of Gaza’s borders to normal traffic.
A Hamas delegation from Gaza and representatives of the Syrian-based leadership were in Cairo for talks on Sunday with Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s pointman for Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
Moussa Abu Marzuk, the Damascus-based deputy head of the Hamas politburo, said Friday that his movement wanted “clarifications on the plan.
Israel has said it is seeking US guarantees to back up the Egyptian proposal on how to stem arms smuggling into Gaza.
The Jewish state has repeatedly made clear it will not halt its offensive until an international mechanism is created ensuring that no weapons enter Gaza via the hundreds of tunnels that snake into the Palestinian territory from Egypt. – AFP
