A series of meetings between representatives of the United States, Qatar and Israel have just taken place in Cairo with, aimed at working out the details of an increasingly elusive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas representatives have repeatedly been invited to join these negotiations, but they have not yet given their consent.
The talks in Cairo were a continuation of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and the closed-door debates that security delegations and military from Egypt, Israel and the United States held in the Egyptian capital during the week. After talks with Blinken in the Mediterranean city of New Alamein, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty gloomily stated that “escalation is likely to come if a ceasefire is not reached”. This is quite clearly confirmed by the fact that Netanyahu ordered the cleansing of the West Bank from Palestinians, which the IDF has already started in all brutality.
Egypt’s position
While in Cairo, Blinken received a clear Egyptian demand for the United States to work on a well-executed deal with clear deadlines and goals to encourage Hamas to sign the deal. Senior Egyptian government officials also informed Blinkin that, according to statements by Badr Abdel Aty, all security plans regarding the borders between Egypt and Gaza must take into account Egypt’s legitimate rights, which are not subject to compromise. “Egypt remains committed to its position on the Rafah crossing”, a senior Egyptian diplomat told the Al-Ahram newspaper. Abdel Aty stated: “We need to put an end to the Palestinian bloodshed; more than 40,000 Palestinians have already been killed and about 100,000 injured in the war. This situation cannot continue for so long.”
Hamas’ position
Judging by the statements of Hamas, leaks from Israel and Qatar, as well as unofficial remarks by many Arab officials and diplomats, there is little chance of a breakthrough in negotiations. The reason for this, according to sources who spoke with experts in the........