An Israeli delegation will visit Cairo this week to present the government's stance on a possible prisoner exchange deal, the Gaza Strip's rehabilitation, and efforts toward a long-term ceasefire, according to a report in the Qatari The New Arab newspaper.
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According to anonymous Egyptian sources quoted in the report, Deputy National Security Council Adviser Eytan Ben-David will head the high-level Israeli delegation.
According to the report, while Ben-David previously visited Cairo and met with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel and the official tasked with the Palestinian file, that meeting did not result in progress in negotiations after Israel insisted the delegation was only in the country to learn the details of the proposal and relay them to the new government.
According to the Egyptian sources, this week's delegation is expected to update Egypt on any possible developments so that Cairo can relay them to Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza.
The sources claimed Israel has changed its stance on a deal, with the Naftali Bennett-led government expressing a desire for calm and hoping to avoid a renewed escalation in the south.
The sources further said there had been signs Israel would not insist on tying Gaza's reconstruction to a prisoner exchange deal.
On Tuesday, Israel expanded Gaza's fishing zone from six to nine nautical miles and approved the import of raw materials for "essential civilian factories" from Israel through the Kerem Shalom Border Crossing. The Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, which oversees civilian affairs in Gaza, said the move was "conditional upon the preservation of security stability."
Nevertheless, Egyptian sources said efforts to reach a would be complicated by the fact Hamas had reached understandings with Palestinian factions on including big names like arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sa'adat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in any prisoner exchange deal. The sources said they were as yet unaware of any new developments on the Israeli side.
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