By Yu Zhongwen, Abdel Meguid Kamal, Xinhua,
Cairo : Talks of various Palestinian groups aimed to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel are set to start in Egypt on Tuesday, but the complexity of the situation and the recent violence between Israel and Palestinian militants make it a tougher task for Egyptian mediators to narrow the gap between the two conflicting sides.
According to earlier report, delegations of various Palestinian groups arrived in Egypt on Monday to coordinate their stances on the ceasefire deal with Israel.
Representatives from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and the Popular Struggle Front (PSF) crossed into Egypt via the border town of Rafah, the Egyptian official MENA news agency said.
A delegation of the Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War (Al-Saiqa) also arrived Monday in Cairo from Damascus to participate in the talks.
However, leading Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah will not participate in the two-day talks sponsored by Egypt that has been leading the efforts to broker the truce.
On Monday, Hamas briefed the Palestinian factions on its final response to the peace efforts, saying it would accept a truce deal that coincides with lifting the siege and halting of Israeli strikes for six months.
Hamas has recently finished talks with Egyptian officials over a possible ceasefire deal with Israel, and is waiting for Israeli responses that are expected to pass through Egyptian mediators.
Meanwhile, during a short visit to Egypt on Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah movement voiced his full support for Cairo’s mediation efforts.
Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Nabil Amr said now that Fatah has granted its approval, there will be no need for the movement to send a delegation to Cairo for the talks.
Samir Gatas, a Palestinian expert on politics currently in Cairo, said it is very difficult to reach a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian groups and Israel.
First of all, it is not easy for Hamas to refrain all Palestinian militant groups from attacking Israel, said Gatas.
Israeli officials have said the Jewish state would consider the truce deal if Hamas could restrain Islamic Jihad and other smaller militant groups from attacking Israel.
However, violence in the Gaza Strip mounted on Monday, killing seven Palestinians including a mother and four of her children, which cast more shadow on Egypt’s mediation efforts.
Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement’s armed wing claimed responsibility for wounding four Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza Strip and for launching two homemade rockets from the area at southern Israel.
Hamas armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, also said in a statement that its militants confronted the Israeli army forces in northern Gaza Strip and had launched several mortar shells and homemade rockets at Israel.
Following seven reported Palestinian deaths in an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) action on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Hamas is to blame for all the attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and the consequences of such attacks.
Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, however, said in a statement that “the current Israeli military escalation against Gaza is an evidence that Israel is not interested in the efforts to agree on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
Besides, some other thorny issues, such as the swap of prisoners and the operation of the border crossings of the Palestinian territories, also hinder the talks, said Gatas.
Ruling out the possibility of signing an official truce deal, Gatas said the two sides could only reach a “tacit” ceasefire.
If Israel signed an official deal with the Palestinian groups, it means the Jewish state recognizes Hamas movement which has always been listed as a terrorist group by Israel, said Gatas.
As for the consequence of failing to reach a ceasefire deal, the Palestinian expert said Hamas militants may escalate attacks against Israel which would only justify the Israeli military actions.
In addition, it was reported that Hamas had plans to threaten Egypt’s national security on the Egypt-Gaza border if the talks failed to lead to a deal, an allegation denied by Hamas.
A Hamas leader said some “antagonistic” bodies are driving a wedge between Hamas and Cairo by spreading such rumors.
The Egyptian and Arab national security is a red line that Hamas can never cross, Mohamed Nasr, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, was quoted by MENA as saying on Sunday.