A round of discussions will begin in Cairo on Sunday between senior Egyptian officials and the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya arrived in Cairo last night at the head of a delegation which, according to the organization's announcement, included his deputy, a senior Hamas operative operating outside the country, Saleh al-Arouri, as well as other senior figures, including Khaled Mashaal and Rawhi Mushtaha.
It should be noted that it is unclear whether al-Arouri, one of Hamas' most prominent strategists and considered one of the main figures working to direct terrorism in Judea and Samaria, actually arrived or is expected to arrive later. Islamic Jihad Director General Ziad Nakhaleh, who is leading a delegation of representatives from the organization, also arrived in Cairo. Some of them left the Gaza Strip as early as Thursday ahead of the talks, which are expected to last several days.
Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas' political bureau, photo: Reuters
The visit by the leaderships of the two organizations came three weeks after the end of Operation Shield and Arrow in the Gaza Strip. Both Jihad and Hamas said the visit was in accordance with an official invitation from Egypt, and that the meetings would focus on several topics, including "developments in the Gaza Strip, political matters, and the situation on the ground."
In the Gaza Strip, it was reported that "the head of the government work committee in the Gaza Strip," Essam Daalis, who coordinates and directs the work of Hamas' various government ministries in the Gaza Strip, will also participate in discussions dealing with, among other things, economic and commercial matters related to the Gaza Strip.
Khaled Mashaal (archive), photo: Reuters
The Arab press reported that the economic issue would be raised in the talks and that "the current period is witnessing the first arrangements of its kind regarding the Gaza Strip as part of a concept that could lead to a hudna between the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and Israel. These arrangements are taking place against the backdrop of regional and international understandings between the United States, Qatar and Egypt, which has an extensive role in Gaza, and therefore the need has arisen in Cairo to obtain agreements and commitments from the leadership of the organizations in Gaza."
According to the newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, "These arrangements relate to the expansion of trade exchanges with the Gaza Strip, starting with the Egyptian port of Al-Arish, through the construction of a secondary port in Gaza whose management will be under the port of Al-Arish and supervised by Egypt. This is in addition to a rapid land crossing that will connect the Gaza Strip to the city of Al-Arish to transfer goods from Gaza to the port, and from there out to countries around the world, and vice versa."
A Palestinian naval police boat at the Gaza port, photo: AP
It was noted that this would require granting security powers to Egypt inside the Gaza Strip. Another issue relates to the supply of electricity from Egypt to Gaza as part of a large project that will include 100 megawatts in the first phase.
According to an Egyptian source quoted in the newspaper, "Also on the agenda is the issue of the gas field off the coast of Gaza, around which discussions are taking place between Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, under the auspices of the United States, in such a way that it will be operated jointly between Cairo and the Israeli government, with the Palestinian Authority receiving part of the revenues allocated to it." In this context, he noted that "Israel conditions the operation of the airport on commitments that Hamas will not harm it, and that Hamas, for its part, also demands to receive a certain quota from the revenues before transferring them to the Palestinian Authority."
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, photo: Reuters
Last week, an Egyptian delegation visited Gaza to "monitor the progress of the reconstruction work in the Gaza Strip as part of several projects that were launched after Operation Guardian of the Walls." Three days ago, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Cairo.
Shtayyeh's office said that "issues related to the Gaza Strip were discussed at the center of the talks, such as ways to facilitate Palestinians' freedom of movement through the crossings, increasing the efficiency of the electricity connection between Egypt and Gaza, water desalination stations in the Gaza Strip, and other civilian issues."
In addition, "the Palestinian prime minister called on Kamel to pressure Israel to stop its re-entries into West Bank towns and villages, and to stop settlement expansion and the deduction of Palestinian tax revenues," the statement reads.
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