A delegation from the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas is set to arrive in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Friday, to express its views on an Egypt-led proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The proposal was made by the Egyptian mediators, who, along with Qataris, have mediated a previous truce in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, starting on October 7.
A Hamas official spoke about the visit with Agence France-Presse on Thursday, on condition of anonymity.
“A high-level delegation from the Hamas political office will visit Cairo tomorrow to meet Egyptian officials and give the response of the Palestinian factions, including several observations, to their plan,” he was quoted as saying.
A joint statement was issued in Lebanon by the leadership of major Palestinian Resistance groups on Thursday, December 28. https://t.co/UisVMrPZhu pic.twitter.com/WjHhWtiwzO
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 28, 2023
The official reportedly added that Hamas has several observations regarding “the modalities of the planned exchanges and the number of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, as well as obtaining guarantees for a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.”
The Palestinian Resistance movement has reiterated time and again that the precondition for any agreement regarding a prisoner exchange between Hamas and the Israeli government is the cessation of hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Egyptian Proposal
The Egyptian proposal includes a three-stage plan and it stipulates extendable truces and the gradual release of dozens of captives held by Hamas in Gaza, in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
According to the plan, the parties would commit to a ceasefire “for 48 hours before implementing the proposal so that both sides may agree on the names of those released in the first and second phases, whether from Israel or Hamas.”
The plan also stipulates that “Egypt, Qatar and the US are responsible for coordinating the formation of a non-factional and political government (technocrats) that will administer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank once a full ceasefire is announced”.
Egypt confirmed on Thursday that it is still awaiting responses on the framework plan.
Al-Jazeera quoted Diaa Rashwan, chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service as saying that “When responses are received from the concerned parties, the proposal will be elaborated in detail”.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
