A delegation from the Palestinian faction movement heads to Cairo and American pressure is on Israel to reach a settlement

Egypt – Today, Sunday, a delegation from the Palestinian faction movement is heading to Cairo, in response to an Egyptian invitation to discuss developments in the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo in conjunction with increasing American pressure on Israel to reach an agreement and conclude an exchange deal.

The faction movement stated in a statement that the delegation traveling to Cairo will be headed by Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of the movement in the Gaza Strip, and affirmed its adherence to the position it presented last March 14, which represents a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and the return of… The displaced people to their places of residence, freedom of movement of people, relief and shelter, in addition to a serious prisoner exchange deal.

A leadership source in the movement said that intensive contacts took place during the last hours between the head of the movement’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and the mediators, to resume the negotiating round in Cairo, which will witness the participation of officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Israel.

The source indicated that Haniyeh assured the mediators that any new negotiating round must begin on the basis of a permanent ceasefire, comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation, and the unconditional return of the displaced.

On the other hand, the official Israeli radio said that the government had made it contingent on sending a delegation headed by the head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Agency (Mossad) David Barnea to the exchange deal talks in Cairo, on a response it described as “positive” from the faction movement.

The radio did not clarify the nature of the “positive” response expected from the movement, but Israel had previously rejected during the negotiations in Doha and Cairo the movement’s demands for the unconditional return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and a permanent ceasefire.

The newspaper “Israel Today” quoted Israeli officials in the negotiations as not likely to see progress in the negotiations without severe military pressure on the factional movement, and they considered that “delaying the Rafah operation would harm efforts to reach a deal regarding the hostages.”

While sources at Cairo Airport told Reuters that CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo to participate in the talks, the Wall Street Journal quoted an informed source as saying that US President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a settlement with the faction movement. Concerning the return of Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip.

As for the American network NBC, it quoted American officials as saying that Biden asked Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and to expand the powers of the negotiating delegation.

Last Thursday, Biden, in a phone call with Netanyahu, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and for Israel to take steps in this direction.

Israel had previously proposed in the negotiations to allow the return of 2,000 displaced persons daily to the northern Gaza Strip, with a maximum return of 60,000 Palestinians, excluding men between the ages of 18 and 50 years.

Israel also stipulated the return of the 2,000 people it identified 10 days to two weeks following implementing a ceasefire that would last for 6 weeks, according to informed Arab sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Tel Aviv confirmed that those wishing to return to the north must pass through Israeli military checkpoints, under the pretext of preventing members of the factional movement from infiltrating the north once more.

The faction movement rejected the Israeli conditions, stressing its demands for the unconditional return of the displaced and a permanent ceasefire, considering that Israeli intransigence makes the negotiations revolve in a “vicious circle.”