From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 30, 2019
PA claims Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan would further divide Gaza from West Bank
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe Palestinian Authority says reports of a possible Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza would deepen the rift between the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave and the Fatah-ruled PA in the West Bank.
Noting reported Israeli “promises of easing [blockade] measures for Gaza including the delivery of funds, a seaport, an airport, a hospital and an industrial zone,” PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh tells the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah that the ceasefire plan “is another piece of evidence of the efforts aimed at strengthening the division.”
Hamas denied reports earlier today that it was in contact with Israel and seeking a ceasefire. “There are no ceasefire talks with the Zionist enemy,” the organization said in a statement. “The occupation has not carried out the understandings reached in the past with the Egyptian mediators.”
The statement came after Israel’s security cabinet met yesterday for several hours to address the ceasefire talks. The meeting ended without any statement as to the status of the talks.
The latest round of ceasefire talks, first reported by Channel 12 over the weekend, involve Israel easing its blockade to allow expanded overland trade between Gaza and Israel, expanding the naval fishing zone, and speeding up the laying of a gas pipeline to help resolve chronic energy shortages in the strip.
In exchange, Hamas would reduce the rate and size of the weekly protests at the border fence, and would act to aggressively prevent rocket fire by terror groups toward Israeli territory.
The Times of Israel Community.