Haniyeh calls for formation of a special committee to follow up on Cairo Agreement

Ismail Haniyeh, vice president of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas, called for the formation of a special committee to follow up on the recent Cairo ceasefire agreement which brought an end to Israel’s latest military offensive in Gaza.

Haniyeh, during his participation on Sunday in a conference on the future of the Palestinian issues following the recent attack, said: “We must act immediately to form a committee to follow up on what was agreed upon in Cairo.”

He called for the committee to be formed by mutual agreement between the Palestinian factions and the authorities, the PLO and the national unity government.

Haniyeh added: “The commission must follow up on the implementation of what was agreed upon in points and terms, and to take note of the issues that must be brought up later.”

He pointed out that the Cairo agreement includes a number of issues. He noted: “There are issues other than opening the Israeli borders, allowing fishing and others which were postponed for a month.”

The Palestinian factions reached an agreement with Israel, with Egypt acting as a mediator, to implement a ceasefire to end the 51 days of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 2,200 Gazans dead and about 12,000 wounded.

In the context of the war on Gaza, Haniyeh said that Israel was surprised by the Palestinian resistance’s strength, headed by the armed wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, noting that the resistance still has more up its sleeve.

Haniyeh pointed out that Israel wanted to hit the national reconciliation and disrupt the work of the unity government as it “does not benefit the interests of the occupation and its plans”.

He continued: “We formed a unity government to succeed. We ask them to expand their work to the West Bank and Gaza and to embrace all the people, a gateway to healing and removing the effects of the aggression.”

He also stressed that political bickering must stop, highlighting the “resistance victory” of Gaza. He said: “It is vital that the culture of victory overwhelms us and to not remain under the ceiling of defeatism in front of the enemy.”

He continued: “Post war is no less important than before, there are many issues that must be dealt with, including internal organisation, international relations, reconstruction, the government and breaking the siege.”