Arab media reported on Friday that Egyptian and U.N. efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas shifted into high gear recently, with various news outlets outlining the provisions discussed.
According to the reports, the emerging agreement includes a provision to reopen the Kerem Shalom and Rafah border crossings, the main entry points for commercial goods into the Gaza Strip from Israel and Egypt. In exchange, Hamas, which rules Gaza, would commit to a five-year cease-fire, the Lebanese paper Al-Akbar quoted Hamas officials as saying.
The goal of the agreement is also to pave the way for Gaza's reconstruction and an eventual prisoner swap, senior Hamas officials said Thursday.
Multiple cease-fire agreements between Israel and Hamas have collapsed over the years, but after weeks of escalating violence along the Gaza-Israel border, in recent days signs have emerged of possible momentum toward a new agreement.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to postpone a trip to South America he had been scheduled to take next week, due to the tensions on the Gaza border, a government official said.
Netanyahu is expected to convene the Diplomatic Security Cabinet on Sunday to discuss the agreement and formulate policy on Gaza. Following a briefing on the developments in Gaza, the cabinet ministers will vote on the policy.
Meanwhile, a high-level Hamas delegation arrived in Gaza Thursday after holding talks in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officials, according to a report by the Palestine Information Center, a Hamas-linked website.
Most of the Hamas leadership is based in Gaza, but it has now been joined by exiled members of the group's political bureau, including Saleh Arouri, a founder of Hamas' military wing in the West Bank and a mastermind of violent attacks against Israelis in the past.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh named Arouri his deputy in October 2017.
Bassem Naim, a Gaza-based Hamas official, said, "Permitting a delegation of this level to come to Gaza is a clear sign that there are first of all guarantees that the delegation will not be targeted by the Israelis, and a sign that there are serious meetings to be held in Gaza."
He said Hamas officials would try to "conclude the progress that has been made on files such as the truce," as well as a U.N.-led effort to rebuild Gaza and possible reconciliation between Hamas and its domestic political rival Fatah, headed by West Bank-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Naim said the Hamas leaders would also talk about a possible prisoner swap with Israel.
Two other senior Hamas officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the outline of the deal proposed by Egypt.
It is not clear what role, if any, Abbas would play in Gaza under the agreement. He has said in the past that he would only resume responsibility for Gaza if Hamas agrees to hand over all authority there, including over security. Hamas has so far declined to do so.
On Wednesday, despite the renewed cease-fire efforts, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that his ministry would temporarily suspend the delivery of petroleum fuels to the Gaza Strip in response to the Palestinians' ongoing arson terrorism campaign.
Israel also suspended fuel shipments to Gaza temporarily in July for similar reasons.
Incendiary balloons and kites, many of them launched from Gaza into Israel during border protests organized by Hamas, have caused fires that have devastated southern Israel's farmland and forests.
Since late March, thousands of Gaza residents have participated in frequent protests along Israel's perimeter fence, in protest against the Israeli blockade on Gaza, among other grievances.
In the past four months, 155 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 117 in protests near the fence, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Gaza rights group Al Mezan. Others, including Hamas terrorists, have been killed in other incidents, including Israeli airstrikes. Last month, an Israeli soldier was killed by sniper fire from Gaza.
Netanyahu was scheduled to visit Colombia from Aug. 6-9 to attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Ivan Duque Marquez.
Numerous Latin American states are expected to attend the Aug. 7 ceremony in Bogota. Netanyahu had been expected to hold a series of meetings with the leaders of Guatemala, Honduras, Argentina and Chile, among others, in an effort to bolster Israel's standing in the region.
