Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations to Resume Next Week

“Hamas and the Palestinian factions will take part in a session of indirect negotiations with the occupation (Israel) on the 27th of this month at the invitation of Egypt,” said Hamas deputy leader Mousa Abu Marzouk.

He said on the movement’s Al-Ray website that the Palestinians would from the outset demand the opening of a Gaza port and reopening of the territory’s airport.

A source close to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, contacted by AFP, gave no comment on the reported resumption of talks, but Army Radio quoted unnamed officials who confirmed the report.

The two sides last month held their first Egyptian-mediated negotiations since the end in August of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.

The talks are meant to discuss some unresolved issues, specifically Israel’s demand that Gaza be demilitarized and Hamas’s demands for an airport and a seaport in Gaza.

Hamas has repeatedly declared that it would reject any attempts to disarm the terrorist groups in Gaza, while Israel has outright rejected Hamas’s demands for an airport and seaport.

 

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