Talks and ceasefire break up, perhaps
Head of the Palestinian delegation Azzam al-Ahmed (L) and other members of the team in Cairo, August 11, 2014. Photo by AFP
IDF strikes in Gaza after 3 rockets fired at Beersheba despite cease-fire
No injuries or damage reported in rocket attacks that come more than 6 hours before midnight truce deadline; Netanyahu, Ya’alon order IDF to respond; Israel calls back delegation from Cairo amid fire. Gaza City
By Ben Hartman, Herb Keinon, Jpost
August 19, 2014
Three rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in open areas near Beersheba on Tuesday, violating a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and prompting an IDF response.
No injuries or damage were reported in the attacks. The attacks were not preceded by rocket alert sirens and the Iron Dome rocket defense system did not attempt to intercept the rockets.
The attacks came despite a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that was extended on Monday night and was not scheduled to expire until midnight.
Diplomatic sources said that in light of the rockets fired on the South and the violation of the cease-fire, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon instructed the IDF to resume its attacks on terror targets inside the Gaza Strip.
Smoke is seen after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza City August 19th. Photo by Reuters.
The IDF said that it responded to the rockets with strikes on Gaza and was prepared for the possibility of renewed hostilities.
According to Palestinian sources, Israeli air raids hit an agricultural field in Beit Lahiya, areas in eastern Rafah and the town of Deir al-Balah.
Israel called back its delegation to Cairo in light of the violation of the cease-fire.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said in response to the renewed fire that “when you negotiate with terrorists, you get more terror.” He slammed Hamas for launching rocket attacks during negotiations and called for a harsh response that will put an end to the deteriorating situation: “Sooner or later, Israel will have to defeat Hamas. There is no way around it.”
Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel said he backed the prime minister and the political leadership in “dealing a heavy blow to [Hamas] terrorists” and reinstating the sense of security to Israel.
Earlier in Cairo the chief Palestinian delegate to the indirect negotiations with Israel cautioned that violence could erupt anew if the talks failed.
“We hope that every minute of the coming 24 hours will be used to reach an agreement, and if not (successful), the circle of violence will continue,” head of the Palestinian delegation to the talks Azzam al-Ahmad said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Palestinians: Egypt seeking extension of cease-fire for talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel would only accept a proposal for a long-term cease-fire if Israel’s security needs were met.
By Jack Khoury and Barak Ravid, Haaretz
August 18, 2014
With the current cease-fire due to end tonight at midnight, Israeli officials seemed doubtful that the talks in Cairo could achieve any kind of agreement before the deadline, but stressed that if Hamas withheld its fire, negotiations could continue.
“It’s still not clear if we can reach an agreement,” a senior Israeli official said. “If the [rocket] fire resumes, Israel will respond forcefully, and if the fire does not resume but no agreement is reached, we will examine whether we can come to some other arrangement and provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before Sunday’s cabinet meeting that Israel would only accept a proposal for a long-term cease-fire if Israel’s security needs were met. “If Hamas thinks it will cover up its military defeat with a diplomatic achievement, it’s mistaken. If it thinks that by taking potshots at us we will concede, it’s mistaken,” he said.
Egypt is seeking to come up with a formula by midday that will give both Israel and Hamas and the other Palestinian factions enough to declare an extension of the temporary cease-fire so that talks can continue, Palestinian sources told Haaretz last night.
Palestinian sources said PLO executive committee member Saeb Erekat had met Saturday night with the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Khaled Meshal, and urged him on behalf of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to accept the Egyptian draft proposal and use it as a basis for continuing the talks.
A senior Palestinian official told Haaretz that Ramallah officials, particularly Abbas, are pushing for acceptance of the current Egyptian proposal even if it doesn’t immediately address all the Palestinian demands, so as to avoid having a solution imposed by the United Nations. “Only an agreement brokered by Egypt and with international support will bring positive results in the short term,” the official said.
The Al-Hayat newspaper, published in London, reported yesterday that the United States had conveyed to Cairo that it would support any agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinians.
The paper also quoted a Palestinian source saying the talks are being pursued along two tracks – a political-diplomatic track, including the exchange of dead bodies and release of prisoners, which will be finalized at a later stage, and a humanitarian track, based on the finding of a formula to lift the blockade on Gaza immediately.
Palestinian sources involved in the Cairo talks say that while Fatah and Islamic Jihad are willing to accept the Egyptian draft proposals, Hamas is still reluctant to do so. But these sources say that even within Hamas, there are those – like the Gaza representatives and deputy political bureau chief Moussa Abu Marzouk – who are willing to be more flexible, while a tougher line is being taken by Meshal, who is represented in Cairo by his associate Izat Reshiq.
“There’s no doubt that within that room there are different trends,” one Palestinian source said. “The Palestinian side understands that Israel is in no position to grant Hamas any points, like a seaport or an airport. But it must be said that Israel isn’t particularly eager to come to an agreement with the factions, particularly with Hamas. So the difficulty focuses on the fact that Egypt and Abu Mazen [Abbas] are enthusiastic about reaching an agreement while Israel and Hamas – particularly Hamas abroad – aren’t rushing to advance the process.”
Hamas is well aware that any future agreement will not be with it directly, but with the PA, and that signing any agreement means restoring PA influence in Gaza, particularly at the Gaza border crossings.
Reshiq, who spoke to reporters in Cairo, said Hamas has no objection to the PA’s return to the Gaza Strip, particularly after the establishment of the unity government. He said the group’s objections stem from two things – that the Egyptian draft states that the opening of the crossings would be in coordination between Israel and the PA, which could lead to negotiations that could take years, and the issue of who would supervise the rebuilding of the Strip, since the PA alone can’t take on that kind of responsibility.
Assessments in Gaza and Cairo say Hamas is prepared to allow the rehabilitation framework to be in the PA’s hands, including the contacts and coordination with the donor countries, but it wants to take a major role in the Strip’s management, including involvement in the Gaza security apparatuses.
Israel ‘refusing to make concessions’ at Cairo talks
By Ma’an news
August 19, 2014
Khaled al-Batsh, L, an Islamic Jihad member of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo. Photo by MaanImages.
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Ceasefire talks are at risk of collapse given Israel’s refusal to make concessions, members of the Palestinian delegation to Cairo said late Monday.
“Israel is seeking to break the confidence between Palestinians and the Egyptian mediators by refusing to make any concessions,” said Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh.
Al-Batsh said the delegation agreed to extend the ceasefire for 24 hours based on their concern for Palestinians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, he told Ma’an the Palestinian negotiators remained determined to “realize our people’s demands, which are worthy of the sacrifices made in the Gaza Strip.”
The Israeli government is responsible for potential failure to reach an agreement in Cairo, al-Batsh added.
A Fatah member of the delegation concurred, saying the Israeli delegation had worked hard to obtain a long-term ceasefire without “signing a meaningful agreement.”
“They avoided any agreement in an attempt to continue their unilateral plans to have control over everything, as they have done in the past,” Fatah MP Faysal Abu Shahla said in a statement.
The comments came after Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed to extend a five-day ceasefire for another day just hours before it was set to expire at midnight Monday.
Palestinian sources in Cairo had told Ma’an earlier Monday that a long-term ceasefire agreement was being finalized after 15 days of Egypt-sponsored negotiations.
But al-Batsh denied the claims, saying: “If progress was made with any issue being negotiated, we would have notified all media outlets.”
As diplomatic efforts continued, Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll from Israel’s month-long assault on the Strip rose above 2,000 as more people succumbed to injuries and bodies were found under rubble. The figures showed 2,016 people had been killed and another 10,196 wounded.
Among the dead were 541 children, the ministry said.
Report: Palestinian official says Israel gave up demand to demilitarize Gaza
After Egypt gets Palestinians and Israelis to extend ceasefire by additional day in final bid to cement a Gaza ceasefire, Abbas affiliate Ashraf al-Ajram (above) tells Army Radio that Israel has shifted its position from demilitarizing Gaza to making sure Hamas cannot rearm. Photo by Yaron Brenner
By Ynetnews
August 19, 2014
Ashraf al-Ajrami, the former Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs and a close affiliate of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Israel’s Army Radio Tuesday that Israel has backtracked from its initial demand that Gaza be demilitarized as part of a long term Gaza ceasefire currently being negotiated in Egypt.
“There is a growing understanding among the Israelis that there is little chance of having this demand met,” al-Ajrami told Army Radio’s Good Morning Israel program. “The Israeli delegation will probably make do with preventing Hamas from rearming,” he claimed.
His comments came as Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in Cairo were trying to hammer out a roadmap for the Gaza Strip after Israel announced late Monday night that it had agreed to extend the temporary truce in Gaza for 24 hours while – at Egypt’s request – it continued to negotiate a permanent agreement.
As of Tuesday morning that sides were still in Cairo working to reach a long term deal on Gaza, and reports about the content of the agreement have been plentiful and rife with contractions, with some expressing optimism and other foreseeing a renewal in fighting.
Hamas official Izzat al- Risheq said Tuesday that “the decision to extend the ceasefire by 24-hours will be the last (such extension). If we do not succeed in reaching an agreement, then negotiations will end. We are not interested in prolonging negotiations anymore and most of the (Palestinian) delegation were reluctant to extend the lull until the last minute.”
Palestinian delegate Qais Abdel-Kareem says discussions resumed on Tuesday morning on key issues, including Israel’s blockade of Gaza, its demands for Hamas’ disarmament and Palestinian demands for a Gaza port and airport.
Palestinian ambassador to Cairo, Jamal Shoback, says the Israelis have proposed arrangements that are about “not (fully) removing the blockade but easing it.”
Ynet reported that sources in Jerusalem said late Monday night that Israel has been working with the US to find a long term solution for Gaza, which included that gradual lifting of the blockage imposed by Egypt and Israel on Gaza. Lifting the blockade is a central Palestinian demand.
According to al-Ajrami, “there seems to an agreement between Israel and the Americans according to which there will be international oversight over the transfer of materials into Gaza,” Army Radio reported.
According to the senior Palestinian official, this understanding will replace the demand to demilitarize Gaza, a move which he said was impossible while a blockade was still in place.
“No one can take Hamas’ arms or those of any Palestinian faction in Gaza because these arms are used to resist the occupation, and the occupation continues,” he was quoted as saying.
Looming deal
Palestinian sources claimed that the pending agreement includes seven sections (which have not been confirmed by Israeli sources):
1. Comprehensive end to blockade of Gaza, including all crossings, and international supervision over entry of construction materials
2. Rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip under the supervision of the Palestinian unity government
3. Provision of solution to electricity shortage within a year
4. Extension of permitted fishing zone from six to 12 miles within six months
5. Comprehensive end to economic blockade of the Gaza Strip
6. An agreement, in principle, regarding a seaport, but a postponement of discussion for a month from the signing of the accord; the proposal sets new discussions – in a month – on the technical and administrative operations of the future port
7. Postponement of deliberation on release of detainees for one month
However, the chief Palestinian delegate to truce talks with Israel warned on Tuesday that Gaza violence could erupt anew unless progress is made toward a lasting deal ahead of a midnight deadline in Egyptian-brokered talks.
Azzam al-Ahmad said there had been “no progress on any point” in talks aimed at resolving the Gaza conflict.
“We hope that every minute of the coming 24 hours will be used to reach an agreement, and if not (successful), the circle of violence will continue,” Ahmad said.
He accused Israel of “maneuvering and stalling” as gaps on key issues continued to dog efforts to achieve a long-term deal between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, dominated by Hamas Islamists, which would allow reconstruction aid to flow in after five weeks of fighting.
An Israeli government official said Israeli delegates were still in Cairo poring over details of a possible deal, although the parties had not yet agreed a draft.
“The Israeli delegation has been instructed to insist on security requirements. The moment there is an agreement, the cabinet will be called for discussions,” said the official, who asked not to be identified.
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk accused Israel of stalling and insisted in a post on his Twitter account that his group “will never cede any” demands for a comprehensive deal.
A senior Palestinian official in Gaza said sticking points to an agreement were Hamas’s demands to build a seaport and an airport, which Israel wants to discuss only at a later stage.
Israel, which launched its offensive on July 8 after a surge in Hamas rocket fire across the border, has shown scant interest in making sweeping concessions, and has called for the disarming of militant groups in the enclave of 1.8 million people. Hamas has said that laying down its weapons is not an option.
Attila Somfalvi, Elior Levy, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report