Sources within the Hamas terror group say the Gaza-based organization is making progress in its talks with Israel, which are currently being conducted through Egypt, adding that a ceasefire deal is likely to be signed next week, following the end of the Eid al-Adha holiday Saturday night.
According to a report by Israel Hayom on Monday, senior Hamas officials say that while Palestinian Authority leaders including Mahmoud Abbas continue to oppose negotiations between Hamas and Israel outside of the framework of a broader deal with the PA, the two sides are close to an agreement, with a series of mutual ‘understandings’ to be signed by both sides.
A senior PA official close to Abbas dismissed the possibility of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel without the reestablishment of direct PA control over the Gaza Strip.
“So long as there is no internal Palestinian reconciliation, under which total control of Gaza is returned to the Palestinian Authority, no ceasefire plan can be implemented in Gaza.”
Despite the progress with the negotiations, tensions remain high in the region following an upsurge in Hamas attacks on Israeli targets including the killing of an IDF soldier on the Gaza border by a Hamas sniper, and a wave of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli towns and army positions in the Gaza border area.