Hassan Al-Warfali (Cairo)
Today, the Egyptian capital, Cairo, is hosting a new meeting for the truce talks between Hamas and Israel, under the auspices of the mediators, Egypt, America and Qatar, to bring the two parties’ viewpoints closer together and reach a ceasefire agreement or a truce that will lead to the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal.
An Egyptian source confirmed to Al-Ittihad the arrival of delegations from the heads of Mossad David Barnea, Shin Bet Ronen Bar, and an official in the Israeli Defense Forces. The meetings will also be attended by the head of Egyptian General Intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, and the Prime Minister of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The source pointed out that the meeting will take place a few hours after the talks between Egyptian officials and the Hamas delegation. The source pointed out that there is a real breakthrough in the negotiation process, but it does not meet the aspirations of all parties and work will be done to reduce it, stressing that there are still existing differences regarding the military operation and the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in addition to Israel’s control over a number of military and strategic axes within the Strip, especially Philadelphi and Netzarim. The displaced Palestinians in Gaza and the families of the Israeli hostages are awaiting the interpretation of the Cairo meetings, amid high hopes for the possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement and completing a deal to exchange prisoners and hostages.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz confirmed that there were disagreements between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli negotiators, following his insistence on keeping the Israeli army in the Philadelphi corridor.
In turn, a source familiar with the talks said: “Netanyahu entered into a dispute with the Israeli ceasefire negotiators because of his insistence that Israel not withdraw from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip.”
The Philadelphi Corridor, along the border with Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor, which runs through the middle of the Gaza Strip, were among the main sticking points in the talks backed by the three mediators.
Netanyahu insists that Israel will not give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor across the border with Egypt, in addition to maintaining checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor.
For his part, Palestinian political analyst Talal Al-Sharif predicted in statements to Al-Ittihad that the mediators would not be able to find a final solution to the issue of the Rafah land crossing from the Palestinian side and the Philadelphi Corridor, explaining that the agreement to restore the situation to what it was before they were controlled represents a step that encourages the success of the prisoner and hostage exchange deal in the first phase, provided that a final solution is reached for the issue of the Rafah land crossing with the second and third phases of the ceasefire, leading to the end of the war.
Meanwhile, sources reported that mediators are trying to find compromise formulas for the controversial issues, but Hamas insists on adhering to the previous paper that was agreed upon on July 2, based on UN Security Council resolutions and President Joe Biden’s vision.
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