Hamas senior officers said that Palestinian militant organizations are sending a delegation to Cairo on Saturday but they will not be part of the ceasefire negotiations for the Gaza Strip.
For over ten months now, Egypt, Qatar and USA have been negotiating with each other in order to bring an end to the war in Gaza strip between Israel and Hamas.
“The delegation will meet with senior Egyptian intelligence officials to hear how far the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Gaza have gone,” the Hamas official who requested anonymity told Reuters. However, this does not mean that it will engage in such negotiations.
“Hamas has stated since the onset of round of talks that it shall not take part.”
After US said latest round had made progress, Hamas said it would send a team to Cairo.
Past months’ optimism during truce talks fade away; this time Israel insisting on keeping its troops at Egyptian border would prove fatal thus forming major contention point.
According to Awad al-Quq, vice chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, who is also a member of the Hamas delegation that left Tuesday morning for Egypt there is no way his group will agree to accept Israeli demands without getting something tangible in return.
The group says it wants all Israeli forces out of Gaza including along its border with Egypt – known as Philadelphia Corridor – where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on keeping soldiers guarding against weapons smuggling via tunnels.
In recent years, hundreds of tunnels under this frontier area have allowed goods ranging from foodstuffs and fuel which cannot be delivered through Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza Strip while bypassing Egyptian blockade imposed after 2007.
On Friday White House confirmed media reports saying that William Burns U.S. CIA director is among officials engaging themselves talks besides heads country’s intelligence spy agencies or security services which form parts discussions held today Sunday 16th November 2014
The source close to AFP: “Discussions are taking place here (Cairo) in preparation for an expanded round of talks that starts on Sunday
“Discussions between Washington and mediators on new bridging proposals for Hamas-Israel differences and modalities for implementing the plan”.
