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Al Jazeera: A high-ranking Egyptian diplomatic official has revealed to Al Jazeera that an upcoming meeting will be held in Turkey between representatives of the leadership council of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), along with Egyptian and Qatari members, with the aim of presenting new proposals for implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel.
The diplomat, who didn’t want to be identified, said that the meeting sought to bridge views on the differences that hindered reaching a consensus on how to move forward to the second phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement, which Israel is violating with continued attacks.
According to the Egyptian official, the negotiations are currently in a very difficult stage, in the light of Israel’s insistence on thwarting them and rejecting all initiatives put forward by mediators to resolve the crisis during a recent round of negotiations in Cairo.
The second phase of the agreement stipulated key provisions aimed at moving from fragile calm to permanent security and political arrangements, which included the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces form the Gaza Strip, a plan to deal with Hamas’s weapons, and the destruction of the remaining tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
This meeting comes amid leaks from Israeli media outlets that stated talks regarding the transition of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza had collapsed, amid Israeli threats of a possible resumption to war, and USA permission to attack without limits should Hamas not disarm by a set deadline date.
According to the Egyptian official, Cairo recently put forward a set of proposals, including activating the clause to allow 600 trucks to pass through the border on a daily basis, in light of Israel’s non-compliance with the clause since the ceasefire came into effect, while adding that the Egyptian side had stressed a complete ceasefire in Gaza and an end to military operations carried out by the Israeli occupation army in the Strip.
