[Al Ahram] The Egyptian ceasefire initiative concerning the ongoing conflict between the Israeli army and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement in the Gazoo Strip is being hindered — especially by the Islamist movement. The reaction from Paleostinian factions over the truce has swung between deliberation and outright rejection.
Hamas officially informed Cairo that it has rejected the Egypt-backed proposal. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
the Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
movement in Gazoo seems to be more open to the initiative. Undersecretary-General for the Islamic Jihad Movement Ziad Al-Nakhala said the initiative needs to be developed.
Meanwhile,...back at the alley, Slats grabbed for his rosco...
Paleostinian sources in Gazoo told Ahram Online that the reason behind Hamas' rejection of the truce was that they were not included in negotiations concerning the initiative that took place in Cairo — Egyptian authorities communicated with Tel Aviv but not with them.
Sources say Israeli and Paleostinian reports show that Qatar is playing a role to abort Egypt's meditation efforts and that Hamas is rejecting cooperation with Egypt in line with the Moslem Brüderbund's defiant stance against Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
A Paleostinian political researcher based in the Gazoo Strip, Abdel-Razek Abu Gazoor, told Ahram Online that there is a difference between the role Egypt has played in Gazoo before and after the mass protests that took place on 30 June 2013 that led to the ouster of the Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
Abu Gazoor explains that there is a disruption in communication between Gazoo and Egypt because of the close relations that exist between Paleostinian factions and the Moslem Brüderbund, who ruled Egypt for one year during Morsi's tenure.
He also believes Egypt's internal affairs — after a year of battling bad boys, writing a constitution and electing a new president — are another crucial reason for the disconnect with Gazoo.
He says that Egypt has always been a main party with a crucial role in the Paleostinian-Israeli conflict, to the point that Paleostinians feel the issue has become a part of Egypt's internal affairs.
Abu Gazoor also believes that Egypt has always been in contact with all parties when it mediates to calm the fighting — except for this time, he says, which means that Egypt needs to regain the confidence of Paleostinian factions and realise they must be part of any Paleostinian-Israeli agreement.
Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Slats grabbed for his rosco...
Abu Gazoor says that Egypt should overcome Hamas' relations with Morsi's old regime.
For now, he asserts the importance of ending the Israeli aggression on the Gazoo Strip, describing Israel's warning to 100,000 Paleostinians to evacuate northern Gazoo and its targeting of the homes of top Hamas leaders as unacceptable.
Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
is to visit Egypt on Wednesday for talks with Egypt's El-Sisi over the proposed ceasefire initiative.
Also, Mideast
Quartet... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy....
envoy Tony Blair held talks with El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on his second visit to Cairo within a week to discuss the Gazoo conflict.
However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
such talks may be undermined due to Hamas' refusal to cooperate with Egyptian authorities.
A source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Ahram Online that the upcoming days might witness a halt in attacks from the Islamist movement.
The source adds that Al-Nakhal, leader of Islamic Jihad, and Khaled Mashaal, Hamas' leader, might be visiting Egypt for talks with El-Sisi over the truce.
Tarek Fahmy, head of the Israeli Studies Unit at the National Centre for Middle East Studies, says that Egypt's stance on Israel's military operations is marked by two characteristics.
First, Egypt is not rushing in as a mediator, which contrasts with its previous actions, even in less momentous events.
Second, Egypt's meeting with the Middle East Quartet shows its role is important and vital in mediation efforts.
Fahmy adds that the Egyptian stance in mediation is dependent on European and American support in order to ensure that all parties — including Israel and the resistance organizations, especially Hamas — aren't able to openly accuse Cairo that it is coordinating with a "terrorist" movement or supporting Abbas' government.