Egypt renewed, on Monday, August 26, 2024, its rejection of any presence of the Israeli occupation forces on its border with the Gaza Strip, as quoted by the “Cairo news channel” close to the authorities, a high-level official source.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a series of meetings after the return of the Israeli negotiating delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea from Cairo, summarized by an Israeli official who spoke to Israel’s Channel 13, saying that the talks held in the past two days did not result in a breakthrough that would allow progress towards reaching an agreement on a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“Egypt has reiterated to all concerned parties that it does not accept any Israeli presence at the Rafah crossing or the Philadelphia axis,” the source said, referring to the parties to the ongoing negotiations to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“Egypt is conducting mediation between the parties to the conflict in Gaza in accordance with its national security and in order to preserve the rights of the Palestinian people,”the source added.
The head of the Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu, has stressed on the most occasion over the past days, his commitment to achieving “all the goals of the war” before the ceasefire, considering that “this requires securing the southern border” of the Strip with Egypt.
In video and written statements, public and closed-door conversations, Netanyahu stresses that Israel is committed to keeping its forces in Gaza, especially at the border strip between the Strip and Egypt, as well as in the Netzarim corridor that separates the north of the Strip from its South.
The Egyptian source’s comments came as intensive diplomatic efforts are being made to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and avoid a wider war following the assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, and the military commander of Hezbollah, Fouad Shukr, in a southern suburb of Beirut.
The talks, the latest round of which was hosted in Cairo, were based on the framework announced by US President Joe Biden in late May and described as an Israeli proposal. On Sunday, a Hamas official said the Hamas delegation had left Cairo after a meeting with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Negotiations continue in Cairo and differences “are still significant”
The newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” reported, this evening, that the talks held by the professional teams are continuing in Cairo, and it is expected to last at least one more day until the concerned parties can reach a final decision on the fate of the negotiations.
The newspaper reported, via its website, that the aim of continuing the talks that had begun in Doha, last week, and resumed in Cairo this week, is to summarize all the points related to the prisoner exchange deal.
The newspaper reported that the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, who is conducting the talks on behalf of US President Joe Biden, recommended that the parties minimize public statements and maintain the maximum degree of secrecy.
However, US officials confirmed earlier today to the New York Times that differences on outstanding issues, including control over the Philadelphia axis and the Netzarim corridor, “remain relatively large”.
Yedioth Ahronoth said that ” the professional teams in Cairo are discussing all the issues raised, primarily the number of hostages to be released in the deal, the lists of prisoners to be released in exchange for them, the keys to the agreement (the number of prisoners to be included in the deal for each hostage) as well as the right of the parties to object.
The talks also discuss the map of the deployment of Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip, according to the newspaper, which suggested that this thorny issue will be resolved to a later stage of the talks, which will continue the day after the Israeli negotiating team returns from Cairo.
Israel has denied Press reports that Tel Aviv has agreed to the participation of the Palestinian Authority in the management and operation of the Rafah crossing, and also rejected reports that the Israeli negotiating team does not have the authority to discuss the issue of the Philadelphia axis, the resolution of which will apparently be postponed to later stages.
Yedioth Ahronoth said that” the mediators asked to set a time period for continuing the talks, and they are talking about another day or two, that is, until Wednesday at the latest, “and stressed that” no breakthrough has been achieved in the talks in Cairo, “while she considered that not” completely blown up ” is an achievement.
The newspaper quoted a US official as saying that the talks in Cairo, including those held with representatives of Hamas, were “fruitful and good” and conducted in a positive spirit by all parties with the aim of reaching a final, enforceable agreement.
“The operation will continue over the coming days through professional teams to address the remaining problems and details,”the US official added. “Burns will continue his efforts to make a breakthrough, despite the difficulties,”he added.
CNN, on the other hand, quoted a senior U.S. official (she did not name) that “progress has been made in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, but something needs to be done on the final details.”
“Progress in the negotiations does not guarantee that a final agreement will be reached in the near future,” the official said, noting that “the remaining points of disagreement, although important, are seen as surmountable”.
“The current proposal is for Israeli forces to withdraw from densely populated points,” he said, adding that “the current dispute is about which points along the Philadelphia corridor will be defined as densely populated.
