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Egyptian intelligence officials returned to Gaza on Monday to participate in ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and militant groups in the coastal enclave, as talks on reconciliation resume Palestinian, according to a report.
Images posted on Twitter showed Gaza-based officials greeting Ahmed Abdelkahliq and Hamam Abu Zeid, two representatives of Egyptian intelligence agencies involved in shuttle diplomacy attempts in Cairo in recent months.
According to the report of the Hamas-related Palestinian Information Center, the Egyptian delegation has entered the Strip through the Erez crossing and is expected to meet with Palestinian faction leaders to discuss a draft of the report. cease-fire with Israel.
Egyptian officials and UN envoys have been engaged in sporadic peace talks with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Israel.
Although speculation has increased in recent weeks over the terms of a truce, the Arab media has announced that it will include an element aimed at easing Israel's restrictions on the movement of goods and people entering and leaving the country. gang.
Weekly demonstrations of Friday's "March of Return", held consecutively since March 30, have been considered the quietest to date. As expected, thousands of people gathered at several sites near the border, but as part of the ceasefire talks, they appeared to have remained largely away from the border fence. . Hamas security would have prevented the protesters from getting too close to the border.
Previous weeks of protests have been marked by the launch of Molotov badtails, burning airborne aircraft and burning tires for Israeli soldiers at the border, who have often reacted with live fire and riot dispersal methods. .
At least 214 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during months of protests and clashes along the border with Gaza, including dozens of members of Hamas. An Israeli soldier has also been killed since protests and clashes began.
For the first time, representatives of the Egyptian delegation were present at the demonstrations.
At the same time, Egyptian efforts to end the months of violence on the Gaza border have also come up against obstacles related to the disagreement between Palestinian factions and the relentless opposition of the Palestinian Authority based in Gaza. West Bank, according to which any agreement reached without its consent would legitimize the Hamas rival administration in Gaza.
Sunday, the Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat reported that Fatah had informed the Cairo negotiators that it had approved the role played by Egypt in reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas after months of heated opposition.
However, Palestinian officials based in Ramallah reiterated that intra-Palestinian reconciliation must precede any possible truce with Israel.
Fatah's acceptance followed a meeting on Saturday when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi urged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to accept the terms of a "progressive reconciliation" with the Palestinian Authority. Hamas to regain control of the Gaza Strip seized in 2007.
Sisi, at a conference in Sharm el-Sheikh this weekend, also reiterated his desire to lobby for "calm" in the band, "because there are two million people there."
While relations between Fatah and Hamas reached their lowest level last year, Abbas sought to punish the militant group by acts such as withholding salaries from officials and reducing the amount of electricity injected into Gaza.
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