For a few days in Cairo, Egypt, a new phase of negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been underway. Contradictory signals arrive from the meetings and from the parties involved: the new offer proposed to Hamas includes some concessions considered important by the American, Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries. Hamas must provide an answer: on Thursday Ismail Haniyeh, political leader of the radical organization who lives in Qatar, announced the sending of new emissaries to Cairo with “the aim of working towards an agreement”.
The announcement was interpreted as a positive signal, after days in which Hamas leaders expressed skepticism about the outcome of the talks, but there are still many points to be defined and above all concern the definition of a “permanent peace”.
According to various international media reports, the proposed agreement would include three phases, starting with a temporary six-week ceasefire, accompanied by the release of some of the Israeli hostages. A second phase would include negotiations for a “permanent calm”, a partial but substantial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and new hostage releases, the third the definition of a five-year reconstruction plan for the destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip, to which the release of military hostages would follow. Hamas should also commit not to rebuild its military arsenal.
Meal distribution in Rafah (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)
The agreement would have the further result of postponing and effectively averting an Israeli invasion of Rafah, the last city in the south of the Strip which the Israeli army has not yet entered, and where around 1.4 million have taken refuge. of Palestinian civilians: even Israel’s main allies, including the United States, consider that a military intervention in the area would cause a new humanitarian catastrophe for the civilian population.
However, Israel and above all its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have recently reiterated that they want to proceed with the invasion anyway, with the aim of achieving a “complete victory”, which would include the destruction of Hamas. The radical Palestinian organization, however, has doubts about the language of the agreement, considered too vague, and has always said it wants to reject any negotiation that does not provide for permanent peace. International pressure and pressure from the countries that are playing the role of intermediaries are trying to move the parties from these two hitherto irreconcilable positions.
Meanwhile, a report from the United Nations Development Program has indicated that in the current situation, after seven months of Israeli bombing, the possible reconstruction phase will last at least until 2040.
