By Xinhua,
Cairo : Most Palestinian factions that had talks with Egyptian mediators have agreed to put a truce with Israel into effect as of Feb. 5, a senior leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement said on Wednesday.
All factions, except Hamas and Jihad, that had talks recently with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman voiced their approval on the truce proposal, said Azzam al-Ahmad, a Fatah leader and head of the Fatah delegation for talks with Egyptian officials.
The Palestinian factions also agreed to start an Egyptian-Palestinian dialogue on Feb. 22, al-Ahmad told the Egyptian MENA news agency.
Al-Ahmad said that Hamas and Jihad withheld their response, expecting the two Palestinian groups will soon “to approve all Egyptian arrangements over the truce and the dialogue.”
Meanwhile, eight Palestinian factions based in Syria refused on Wednesday to sign a truce before Israel lift blockade on the Gaza Strip, said a statement after their meeting in Damascus.
“One of the most important priorities is to open the border crossings, especially the Rafah crossing, lift the siege and bring in medical supplies and necessary machinery and equipment,” Hamas and seven other groups said in the statement.
The factions also rejected any regional or international security arrangements that would compromise the security of the Palestinian people and the resistance against Israel.
During a 22-day Israeli military offensive against Gaza that ended on Jan. 18, some 1,400 Palestinians were reportedly killed and 5,500 others wounded.
According to earlier reports, Egypt has proposed to start a “lasting” truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups on Feb. 5 and resume the inter-Palestinian national unity dialogue on Feb. 22.
Egypt has also offered to host an international conference gathering all donor countries on Feb. 28 for the rebuilding of Gaza.