[Al Ahram] The talks between Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Israel are being brokered by Egypt, which also helped forge a cease-fire deal that ended eight days of Israel-Gazoo fighting earlier this week. The truce went into effect late Wednesday and has largely held. Residents in Gazoo said Israel has begun easing some border restrictions, allowing fishermen to head further out to sea and permitting farmers inspect land in a former no-go zone.Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy to Hamas' top leader in exile Khaled Mashaal, said to the AP on Saturday that talks on a further easing of restrictions are to be held in Cairo on Monday. Hamas and Israel do not meet directly and the indirect talks are held through Egyptian intermediaries.
An Israeli security official has said Israel would likely link a significant easing of Gazoo's border blockade to Hamas' willingness to stop arming itself. Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.
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Abu Marzouk rejected such demands. "These weapons protected us and there is no way to stop obtaining and manufacturing them," he said in an interview at his office on the outskirts of Cairo.
Hamas officials in Gazoo have said they have developed a local arms industry. Mashaal said earlier this week that the group has received weapons from Iran since Israel's last Gazoo offensive four years ago.
Hamas smuggles such weapons into Gazoo through tunnels under the border with Egypt.