Egypt presents plan to end the Gaza war
How can the war in the Gaza Strip be ended? Egypt, which borders the Palestinian territory, is likely to be an important mediator. According to a report, Cairo is now presenting a plan which, in addition to a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, also envisages a Palestinian dialog.
According to Arab media reports, Egypt has drawn up a plan to end the Gaza war in several stages. As reported by the Saudi TV channel Aschark News, the first phase would involve enforcing a ceasefire lasting at least two weeks. The report referred to "informed sources", which were not specified.
In this first phase, 40 hostages held in the Gaza Strip were also to be released. In return, Israel was to release 120 Palestinian prisoners. On both sides, these were to be women, children under the age of 18 and elderly, sick people.
The second phase would be about establishing a national Palestinian dialog under the auspices of Egypt. The aim is to "end the division" and form a technocratic government, it said. This passage refers to the rivalry between the two largest Palestinian groups, the Fatah of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
In the third phase, there should be a complete ceasefire and a comprehensive agreement on the exchange of hostages and prisoners. Finally, the plan reportedly envisages a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. At the same time, all displaced persons would have to be allowed to return to their homes. So far there has been no official reaction from Egypt or Hamas to the report.
Hamas political leadership working on deal
The leader of the Islamist Hamas, Ismail Haniya, was previously in Egypt with a delegation for talks. According to the Aschark News report, he traveled back to Qatar, where he lives, on Saturday. He is one of the most important leading figures in Hamas. According to reports, the exiled Hamas political leadership is already holding talks behind the backs of the two Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, Jihia Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, on how the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will be governed after the end of the war.
Under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the USA, Israel and the Islamist Hamas agreed on a ceasefire in the Gaza war lasting several days at the end of November, which led to the release of hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
The most recent escalation in this conflict was triggered by a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, when terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups murdered around 1,200 people, including more than 850 civilians. They also abducted around 240 hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip is a reaction to this. Israel invokes its right to self-defense and its duty to protect its citizens.
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Source: www.ntv.de
