Combined images of (from L to R) Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, Head of Egypt s General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel and Head of Israel s Mossad David Barnea
Jan 27,
2024. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
Central
Intelligence Agency Director William Burns will meet with Head of Egypt’s
General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel and Head of Israel’s Mossad David
Barnea in Europe in the coming days, according to multiple reports, to seek a
truce agreement between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
The anticipated deal aims to secure the release of over 100 remaining Israeli captives still held in Gaza and establish a sustained cessation of fighting.
While
Israeli officials have rejected the idea of a permanent ceasefire, both Israel
and Hamas reportedly agree in principle to a one-month ceasefire for the
exchange of Israeli captives with Palestinian prisoners, as revealed by three
sources to Reuters last week.
However,
differences between the two sides regarding the means to achieve a permanent
end to the Israeli war have delayed progress on the framework plan.
The meeting
between Burns and the intelligence chiefs, expected to take place in France,
will also be attended by Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
The meeting
occurs amidst mounting international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza
and ongoing mediation efforts by Egypt and Qatar, who serve as key
intermediaries between Hamas and Israel, to bring an end to the bloodshed that
has persisted since 7 October.
Egypt, Qatar, US mediation
Egypt and
Qatar successfully secured a week-long pause in Israeli aggression last
November, resulting in the release of around 100 captives held in Gaza,
including Israelis and foreigners. In exchange, Israel freed 240 Palestinian
prisoners.
On Friday,
US President Joe Biden held phone conversations with Egypt’s President
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to
discuss the situation in Gaza. The discussions focused on joint efforts to
secure the immediate release of all remaining captives held by Hamas and
establish a “prolonged” humanitarian pause in the fighting, according to the
White House.
Burns’s
discussions are expected to build upon a recent visit by the White House’s
Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, to both Cairo and Doha, which had
similar objectives.
‘Unreasonable
conditions’ for ceasefire
Egypt’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid stated on Wednesday that
Egypt is constantly working towards achieving a ceasefire in Gaza. However, he
mentioned that Israel has imposed “unreasonable conditions” making such a goal
unattainable for now.
The
devastating Israeli bombings in Gaza have claimed the lives of 26,257
Palestinians and left 64,797 others injured over the past 113 days, as stated
by the Ministry of Health in Gaza on Saturday. These attacks have also forced
over three-quarters of Gaza’s 2.3 million population to flee their homes,
according to UN figures.
Despite a
ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday, which called upon
Israel to take measures to prevent acts of genocide, Israel has vowed to
continue its assaults in Gaza until it achieves “total victory.”
Egypt
welcomed the ICJ ruling but said it had anticipated the ICJ to also demand
an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Ahram
Online
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