Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders see Egyptian proposal as defeat

by Daniel Siyoti and Mati Tuchfeld

Leaked draft cease-fire framework calls for Israel to stop killing terrorist leaders and for armed Palestinian groups to lay down weapons • Palestinian officials in talks reportedly furious with Qatar for urging Khaled Mashaal not to compromise.

The Palestinian negotiating team in Cairo | Photo credit: AFP

No to demilitarization, yes to rehabilitation: Egyptian media outlets reported this weekend the details of the draft agreement Egyptian mediators have proposed for a cease-fire and long-term truce between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and the other Palestinian groups. 

The framework includes 10 main points. The proposal stipulates that control of strategic points in the Gaza Strip be transferred to the Palestinian Authority in accordance with the Oslo Accords, which Hamas does not recognize. 

The central points of the proposal include the following: Israel will stop its policy of strikes on terrorist leaders and commit to refrain from sending ground troops into the Strip; the Palestinian groups will cease all terrorist activity, including an immediate and complete stop to rocket fire and a cessation of construction of tunnels leading to Israel; all crossings between Israel and Gaza will be opened and people and goods will be allowed to pass through. 

In addition, the combat zone in northern and eastern Gaza will be "deactivated" and PA security forces deployed there starting in 2016. 

The Egyptian proposal also calls on Israel to authorize a fishing zone off the coast of Gaza of up to six nautical miles (11 kilometers), to be extended to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) depending on how the truce holds. The draft plan also requires Israel to help the PA rebuild infrastructure damaged in the recent operation as well as help provide urgent medical care for wounded Palestinians. 

The document calls for negotiations to wrap up in Cairo within a month, after the cease-fire takes full effect. The negotiations will also address the Palestinian demand for an international airport and deep water sea port in Gaza, as well as prisoner exchanges and an exchange of bodies. 

Hamas responded badly to the Egyptian proposal and stressed that it was only a draft, not a final framework. Senior Hamas official Izat a-Rishak said that the Palestinians had reservations about and many comments on the proposal's major points. However, he stressed that the Palestinians were still talking among themselves about presenting the Egyptians with a document stating their position as a response to the framework agreement authored by Egyptian intelligence, which is brokering the talks. 

Khaled al-Batash, a senior official with the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, said about the draft proposal "We prefer to return to Gaza without a cease-fire agreement than with a humiliating one that in effect is a declaration of defeat, and that's what the Egyptian framework proposal is."

"Unfortunately, the Egyptians could have done more for the Palestinian people, but that isn't expressed in the document. We are certain that this isn't the final version, and we have a lot of work ahead of us," al-Batash said. 

The Egyptian website A-Shuruk reported senior Palestinian sources involved in the Egyptian talks were furious at the Qatari foreign minister, who they said was pushing Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal to take an uncompromising position on opening a sea port -- a demand Israel is making conditional on the demilitarization of the Strip and the Palestinian groups giving up their arms. 

A-Shuruk reported that if it weren't for the wrench Qatar was throwing in the negotiation works, both sides could reach a basic understanding and accept the Egyptian proposal that serve as the basis for a long-term truce.

Daniel Siyoti and Mati Tuchfeld

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=19503

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