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Late on Tuesday, negotiators in Cairo began to discuss Israel’s blockade on Gaza as they approached the 48-hour mark on the three-day ceasefire.
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators continued their indirect talks in an attempt to find more permanent peace in the region. According to sources, Monday’s negotiations had lasted for 48 hours, and all parties involved felt reaching a permanent peace agreement will be difficult. The source added that in Tuesday’s meeting, core issues like the blockade were discussed. The talks, which began in the afternoon, went on till late in the night.
Both teams gathered in separate rooms at an Egyptian General Intelligence headquarters and never saw each other – mediators shuttled to and fro carrying proposals and counter-proposals. Hamas wants the blockade on Gaza to be lifted while Israel says it will help with the reconstruction of Gaza only when if it is fully disarmed.
Egypt, which mediated the three-day ceasefire that began at 21:01 GMT on Monday, urged Hamas and Israel to reach “a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire”. Last week, all parties involved were not able to prolong a similar three-day ceasefire beyond its deadline.
Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Intelligence Minister, warned of another ground attack in Gaza if there wouldn’t be a reasonable outcome from the talks.
“Either there will be a reasonable resolution of the situation in Gaza, or, if the fire resumes, we will have to consider… an expansion on the ground, overthrowing the Hamas authorities and the demilitarization of Gaza by ourselves”, he told Israeli army radio.
Yair Lapid, Israel’s Finance Minister said that he was calling for an international conference involving regional powers, the European Union, the United States and moderate Arab nations like Saudi Arabia to discuss the future of Gaza.
“We think that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas should take control of Gaza and be active in its reconstruction”, he said.
