Palestinian delegate puts deadline to talks with Israel

Qais Abdul Karim, member of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, today announced the deadline for talks with Israel is the same as that for the 72-hour ceasefire which ends at midnight tonight.

“Today will end with a deal with the Israeli side or no deal,” he told the Anadolu news agency. “We told the Egyptians that we want to finish all issues before the end of the 72-hour truce. All files are still open. None has been closed since start of talks.”

It was reported earlier that Palestinian demands to construct sea and airports were the obstacles in reaching a deal. Abdul Karim said: “It is true that these demands are important, but no agreement on any of the Palestinian demands has been reached so far.”

According to the Anadolu correspondent, the Palestinian delegation is now meeting in one a Cairo hotel to discuss a paper introduced by the Egyptian broker to them and to the Israeli side.

Sources close to the Palestinian delegation told Anadolu that the Egyptian paper includes the opening of crossings, the flow of aid to Gaza, the reconstruction of Gaza, passing salaries for employees in Gaza through the Palestinian Authority, narrowing buffer zones and expanding fishing zones to more than six nautical miles.

The Palestinians said that they would study the Egyptian proposal and reply to it today. “The situation about the possibility to sign or not to sign a comprehensive ceasefire will be clear after Wednesday’s meeting and receiving the Israeli reply,” the Palestinian source said.