Sun. Oct 13th, 2024

a Palestinian official said Egypt has informed the Palestinian Authority of its intention to amend its initiative to end the war in the Gaza Strip to consider the role and responsibility of the PA in forming the next government.

The official added that the Palestinian side is waiting to receive the revised version of the Egyptian initiative, stressing that a delegation from the PLO will head to Cairo soon to discuss the file of joint relations and Egypt’s role in launching a Palestinian national dialogue to end the division and political participation and form a national consensus government to take over the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, sources said that the Palestinian Authority decided to form a delegation heading to Cairo, following its rejection of the Egyptian initiative to end the war on Gaza, noting that the delegation will carry proposals that Egypt sponsor a “Palestinian national dialogue” to integrate Hamas into the Palestine Liberation Organization, and form a “national consensus” government in the Gaza Strip, not a government of “technocrats,” as proposed by the Egyptian initiative.

The sources confirmed that the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, will head the delegation, noting that he will also submit a proposal that the national consensus government include independents, nominated by Palestinian factions, including Hamas, and will also call for the launch of a program for the reconstruction of Gaza, and the convening of an international conference for that, after the formation of the proposed “national consensus government”.

The Palestinian proposals, carried by the Ramallah delegation to Cairo, also include the reconstruction of the Palestinian security forces in the Gaza Strip.

Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, who is part of the delegation, said that “the national consensus government is more capable of managing the Gaza Strip than the government of experts proposed by the Egyptian initiative.”

Majdalani explained that “political forces are more able to take over the files of the Gaza Strip after the devastating war waged by Israel on the Strip, which left hundreds of thousands of families without shelter, food, medicine, hospitals, roads, water or electricity.”

The Egyptian initiative to end the war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip was explicitly rejected by the Palestinian Authority, while Israel decided to discuss it in the “War Council”, while Hamas stipulated “stopping the aggression before talking about any calm.”

In recent days, Palestinian leadership institutions have held two meetings to discuss the Egyptian initiative, the first was a meeting of the Central Committee of the “Fatah” movement, on Sunday evening, and the second was the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on Monday evening.

Officials who participated in the two meetings said that there was criticism of the Egyptian initiative presented to Hamas and Israel, saying that the initiative “ignored the State of Palestine, its leadership and the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” referring to the Palestine Liberation Organization, the officials did not mention any objections to the prisoner exchange or efforts to stop the war.

Jibril Rajoub, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, put forward a proposal at the committee meeting that stipulates “working to establish a strategic dialogue between Egypt and the Palestinian Authority that addresses various files and lays the foundations for cooperation between the two countries in various fields and files.”

The initiative presented by Cairo to the delegations of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” and “Jihad” in Cairo last week includes 3 phases, the first is the start of a humanitarian truce for a period of two weeks, which can be extended for two or three weeks, during which Hamas releases 40 Israeli detainees in the categories of women and children (under 18 years old), and males of the elderly, especially the sick.

The second phase includes the convening of a Palestinian national dialogue under Egyptian auspices with the aim of “ending the division”, the formation of a government of technocrats (independents) to oversee humanitarian relief issues, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and the preparation for general and presidential elections, while the third phase provides for a total and comprehensive ceasefire, the conclusion of a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal that includes all Israeli military personnel, agreement on the number of Palestinian prisoners, then the Israeli withdrawal from the cities of the Gaza Strip, and enabling the displaced to return to their homes.

Palestinian officials said the PA considered that “the Egyptian initiative ignores the role and responsibility of the PA in forming the Palestinian government.”

One official said: “We welcome and welcome any Arab and international effort to stop the criminal war on the Gaza Strip, but the formation of Palestinian governments is a Palestinian matter.”

The last paragraph of the Egyptian initiative stipulates that Egypt, Qatar and the United States will coordinate the formation of a government of Palestinian experts (technocrats) to administer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

 

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