Egypt has frozen its role as mediator with Palestinian factions to seek a solution to the war in the Gaza Strip, after the assassination of the number two in the Hamas political office, Saleh al Arouri, on the outskirts of Beirut, Palestinian and Egyptian sources told Efe today.
“Egypt officially informed Israel that it has frozen its role as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinian factions to conclude an agreement leading to the end of the war” following the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday, said the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of this topic. Always according to the same sources, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements also informed Cairo of the suspension of negotiations with Israel for a ceasefire.
Until now, Egypt has not formally communicated this step.
A plan in three phases
The Egyptian authorities confirmed last week that in their role as mediator they have presented a three-phase plan, which did not break downto reach an agreement to end the war in Gaza after different Palestinian delegations passed through Cairo.
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Palestinian and Egyptian sources familiar with the conversations assured Efe, on condition of anonymity, that Egypt proposed Hamas and Islamic Jihad a “Palestinian national dialogue” to end the division between the factions and form a “technocratic government” in the West Bank and Gaza.
This government would oversee the reconstruction of the Strip and pave the way for Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections, they said. This proposal is the second point of the three-axis plan and whose ultimate objective is to achieve the definitive cessation of attacks about the enclave and the withdrawal of the Israeli Army. The first axis of the plan would be a two-week truce in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli hostages and 120 Palestinian prisonersaccording to sources.