A stalemate: this is the provisional outcome of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations held in Cairo. According to reports Reuters (citing Egyptian security sources), neither Hamas nor Israel has accepted several compromises presented by the mediators. Confidence in the success of the latest US attempt to end a 10-month war is shaken. However, US sources described the negotiations as “constructive,” adding that they were conducted by all parties in the hope of reaching “a final and feasible agreement.”
The future
The American official he spoke with Reuters added: “The process will continue in the coming days through working groups to further address outstanding issues and details.” The dialogues mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar are struggling to make progress on certain points, particularly. Starting with the issue of the Israeli presence in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor, a narrow 14.5-km strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, and in the Netzarim Corridor, which runs through the Gaza Strip.
The conditions
The mediators proposed several alternatives to the presence of Israeli forces in the two areas, but none were accepted by the parties. A Hamas delegation, after participating in talks through mediators, left Cairo. And it reiterated its demand that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, said a senior official, Izzat El-Reshiq.
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