BICOM

Activity continued yesterday to bring about a long-lasting Gaza ceasefire, with an Egyptian-brokered deal reportedly in the works and a parallel attempt to agree a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution.

In Cairo, reports throughout the day claimed that a month-long truce between Israel and Hamas was nearing agreement. Egyptian officials have successfully negotiated short-term truces during the past few weeks. The Palestinian Ma’an news agency said that all Palestinian factions had agreed to the Egyptian proposal, which is thought to propose an immediate end to violence and opening of the Rafah border crossing, with other issues such as disarmament and prisoners deferred for a month. Although Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri commented “efforts are advancing more than in the past,” Maariv reports that Hamas’s political leader Khaled Meshaal remains inflexible and continues to toughen Hamas’s negotiating position.

Meanwhile, the United States has reportedly presented its own draft UN Security Council resolution mandating a ceasefire. Draft resolutions have already been compiled by Jordan and a separate joint initiative spearheaded by Britain, France and Germany. Reuters quotes an unnamed UN diplomatic official who said that the US is “working to combine the drafts and come up with a common text.”

It is also widely reported this morning that US General John Allen has already arrived in Israel to hold meetings with top Israeli officials over a possible ceasefire and more specifically the potential for a subsequent resumption of peace talks between Israel and the PA. Earlier this year, Allen drafted a comprehensive security plan as part of US efforts to broker a peace agreement.

In Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman says that efforts by Egypt, the PA, United States and European countries to conclude a Gaza ceasefire all include linkage to the renewal of a broader peace process between Israel and the PA. Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni yesterday commented that, “We need a comprehensive diplomatic process” and that, “Whatever the Palestinian people can achieve, they can achieve in the negotiating room.”