Egyptian-mediated talks between Israel and the Palestinians on cementing a ceasefire in Gaza resumed on a sour note yesterday after Israel’s killing of two Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank. The first meeting began in Cairo around noon under the leadership of Egyptian intelligence, having been delayed for almost two hours while Palestinian factions discussed whether to suspend the negotiations.
The Palestinian delegation condemned the killing in Hebron earlier on Tuesday of two Palestinians who Israel said had shot dead three Israeli youths in June, an attack that touched off a chain of events leading to the July-August Gaza war. But Palestinian delegate Mahmoud al-Zahar said Israel must not be given any pretext “to escape from commitments” of an Aug. 26 truce that called for talks within a month to make longer-term border arrangements for the blockaded Gaza Strip.
“After consultations within the Palestinian delegation and brothers in Gaza and abroad, it was decided to continue the Cairo meetings,” he told Reuters.
Fifty days of conflict between Hamas and Israel left devastation in some Gaza districts. More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the fighting, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were also killed.
Israel launched the offensive on July 8 with the declared aim of halting cross-border rocket salvoes by Hamas and other militant groups. Egyptian-mediated talks in July and August succeeded in securing a series of ceasefires aimed at laying the groundwork for talks on a broader deal.
Azzam Ahmed, the Fatah official leading the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, said Tuesday’s talks were intended to set a schedule for wider negotiations likely to take place in October, after the end of upcoming Jewish and Muslim religious holidays.
The Palestinians want an end to the blockade of Gaza by Israel, which views Hamas as a security threat and is seeking guarantees that weapons will not enter the territory.
