Egypt to call for the resumption of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks

Cairo is to work on calling the different sides to resume ceasefire talks very soon, local Palestinian newspaper Al-Istiqlal reported yesterday.

Egyptian Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Wael Nasr El-Din Attia said Egypt has been doing its best to stabilise the ceasefire between the Palestinian and Israeli sides and is to sponsor indirect talks on the issue.

The ambassador added: “We are conducting discussions with the different sides and will invite them for talks at the appropriate time.”

On August 26, the Palestinian and Israeli sides reached a ceasefire that ended a 51-day war on Gaza that claimed the lives of more than 2,260 Palestinians and wounded more than 11,000 others. Both sides agreed to discuss a number of issues later on.

Indirect talks between the two sides should have started by October 3 but were postponed after 30 Egyptian soldiers were killed in Sinai. Egypt, who sponsored the talks, has yet to call for them to be resumed.

Meanwhile, the ambassador said that Egypt is playing a big role in bridging the gap between Hamas and Fatah in order to end the internal division.

Regarding the media propaganda against Hamas, the ambassador said: “There is a kind of exaggeration by some of the Egyptian mass media which do not understand the reality of the situation.” He noted that relations with the Palestinians would remain strong.

Attia said Egypt is in discussions with the PA to agree on a complete mechanism to run the Rafah Crossing in Gaza, noting that the crossing was closed to safeguard the Palestinian travellers in the wake of the deterioration of the security situation in Sinai.

The ambassador said that Egypt is in contact with a number of groups regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, mainly Norway which was one of the countries who called for the Donor Conference.

He added that Cairo is asking Israel and all concerned parties to open the crossings and facilitate the entrance of aid and construction materials.