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Palestinians and Israelis agree on five-day ceasefire

August 14, 2014 at 12:40 pm

Egypt announced yesterday the extension of the truce between the Palestinians and the Israelis by more 120 hours.

In a statement, Egyptian the foreign ministry said: “It was agreed that the truce would be extended for an additional five days to allow for the continuation of indirect negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a comprehensive and permanent peace.”

Head of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo Azzam Al-Ahmad confirmed the reports and said that despite contradictory reports regarding the fate of the talks, the sides decided to give talks more time in order to reach an end to the aggression.

“We have agreed on a ceasefire for five days,” said Al-Ahmed, noting that there had been “significant progress” but that disagreements remained over the wording regarding security arrangements, reconstruction efforts for the Gaza Strip and the permissible fishing area.

Senior Hamas leader and member of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo Izzat Al-Risheq wrote on his Twitter account yesterday: “The ceasefire has been extended in order to continue the discussions.”

Early yesterday, Israeli media reported the agreement of the Israeli ministerial council on a 72-hour expansion for the truce should the Palestinians accept it.

Islamic Jihad leader and member of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo Khaled Al-Batch told a Turkish news agency: “Nothing tangible was achieved regarding the Palestinian demands. So, the Palestinians agreed to expand the truce.”

He continued: “Israelis remain stubborn, but there are Egyptian efforts to achieve the Palestinian demands.”

Al-Batch said that he did not know whether there is a chance for more expansions for the truce. “I cannot say whether this is the last truce or not,” he said, “but until this moment, we hope that Egypt doubles its efforts to reach a solution.”