Egypt’s initiative consists of the release of 40 hostages and a comprehensive prisoner exchange agreement.
as part of a three-phase plan to achieve a total cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources told EFE.
According to the sources, a Hamas delegation will travel to Qatar, where its political office is located, to assess this proposal, which Egypt will also present to the Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its secretary general, Ziad Najalah, who arrived today in Cairo to address the situation in the Palestinian enclave.
The initiative offered by Egypt to the head of Hamas’ political wing, Ismail Haniye, consists of three points: the first of which establishes a truce of two to three weeks in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The second point proposes a process of inter-Palestinian talks leading to the formation of a technocratic government in Gaza.
The third and last point proposes to put into effect a total cessation of the war, achieve a comprehensive prisoner and hostage exchange agreement between the two sides and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, according to the sources.
They detailed that Egypt will present this plan to the secretary general of the Islamic Jihad to consolidate the full Palestinian position towards this initiative.
However, this Palestinian movement has previously expressed its rejection of any new hostage exchange agreement with Israel until the Israeli military assault on the Palestinian strip is halted.
Islamic Jihad is a radical Palestinian organization considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union, operating in Gaza, the West Bank and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
Unlike other Palestinian factions, Islamic Jihad refuses to engage in political peace processes and insists that military victory over Israel is the only viable means to achieve its ultimate goal: the establishment of a state in the territories of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.