Al-Hayat on Thursday reported that the head of Egypt’s General Intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, visited Tel Aviv Wednesday in a final attempt to reach an agreement on a prolonged ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, before heading to Ramallah Thursday, to meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who does not appear delighted with the proceedings.
Indeed, a senior Fatah official on Wednesday described the proposed truce between Israel and Hamas as a national betrayal.
Azzam al-Ahmad, member of both Fatah Central Committee and the PLO Executive Committee, caused anger in Cairo when he told Voice of Palestine radio that “the truce reached between Hamas and Israel […] is a betrayal of the Palestinian people and its national cause.”
He said that the leadership in Ramalah did not have time for such useless carnivals, pointing out that not all factions are involved in this agreement and that there were factions involved he had not heard of before.
Kamel’s visit coincides with the visits in Cairo of two high-level delegations from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, along with delegations of a number of smaller terrorist factions, and two more delegations from the Democratic Front and the National Initiative arriving Thursday.
A source close to the delegations told Al Hayat that the truce agreement would be announced on Friday in the presence of all the factions in Cairo.
Al-Hayat reported that Kamel had gone to Tel Aviv to discuss the final details of an integrated agreement that included Israel’s approval of the truce, the implementation of humanitarian projects in the Gaza Strip and later, indirect negotiations with Hamas movement for the exchange of prisoners.
In Ramallah, the Central Council began its twenty-ninth session Wednesday night, which was boycotted by a number of factions, including Hamas, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front and the National Initiative. In his opening speech, Chairman Abbas described the US administration as “liars” and suggested its policy is aimed at making the Gaza Strip the center of the political solution.
“What is the meaning of this sudden American awakening towards the humanitarian situation in Gaza? And where did these humanitarian projects come from?” Abbas wondered.
Abbas renewed his absolute rejection of the American “peace deal of the century.” He also stressed the continued support for the families of dead and imprisoned terrorists, despite Israel’s deduction of the value of those funds from the taxes and customs it collects on the PA’s behalf.