WarSclerotic

The cease-fire agreement Egypt is trying to ‎negotiate between Israel and Hamas includes a one-‎year truce as well as several measures meant to ‎alleviate the dire economic situation in the Gaza ‎Strip, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen TV ‎reported Thursday.‎

According to the report, under the deal, Qatar ‎would pay the salaries of Hamas government officials in Gaza as well as for the enclave’s power ‎supply. Those payments used to be carried by the ‎Palestinian Authority, but PA ‎President Mahmoud Abbas suspended them earlier this year in a bid to ‎pressure Hamas into ceding control of Gaza.‎

The deal also includes establishing a “naval ‎corridor” between Cyprus and Gaza through which ‎goods could be delivered to Gaza, as well as ‎the construction of a port in the ‎Sinai Peninsula, which would operate under Israeli ‎security supervision to send goods to ‎Gaza.

It was unclear whether these two plans would ‎coincide. ‎

The report said the next 48 hours of the ‎negotiations would be “crucial” to the efforts to ‎achieve a cease-fire. ‎

If the truce holds for the planned year, negotiations ‎will be held to extend it.‎

The report came several hours after the London-based ‎Arabic ‎newspaper Al-Hayat reported that Egyptian ‎General Intelligence Service Director Maj. ‎Gen. ‎Abbas Kamel met with senior Israeli defense ‎‎officials in Tel Aviv on Wednesday as part of ‎‎Cairo’s efforts to broker a long-term cease-fire ‎‎between the Jewish state and the terrorist group ‎that rules Gaza. ‎

Kamel is also expected to meet with Palestinian ‎‎Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the ‎‎report said.‎

According to Al-Hayat, Kamel’s meeting with Israeli ‎‎officials focused on the two main issues of the ‎‎agreement, namely humanitarian gestures for Israel ‎‎to offer the Gaza Strip and the fates of two ‎‎Israeli civilians and the bodies of two soldiers ‎‎held by Hamas.‎

Both Al-Hayat‎ and Al Mayadeen ‎said the issue of ‎a potential prisoner exchange deal would be ‎discussed only after the cease-fire proves viable, ‎giving no timeframe.‎

Hamas is holding the remains of Staff Sgt. Oron ‎Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin, killed in the Gaza Strip ‎in separate battles in 2014, as well as two living ‎Israeli civilians – Ethiopian Israeli Avera Mengistu ‎and Bedouin Israeli Hisham al-Sayed – both men with mental health issues who crossed into Gaza ‎willingly in 2014 and 2015 and were captured.‎

A senior Israeli official denied that an agreement ‎‎with Hamas would exclude the issue of the Israeli ‎‎captives.

“There can be no true agreement ‎‎with Hamas without the return of our citizens and ‎‎soldiers, and a guarantee of long-term calm on the ‎‎border,” ‎he said.

“The current calm is the result of ‎‎determined IDF operations that will continue as ‎‎needed, in accordance with the understandings ‎‎reached by the Egyptians and the United Nations. It ‎‎is in light of these understandings that the Kerem ‎‎Shalom crossing was opened and the Palestinian ‎‎fishing zone was expanded. ‎

‎”As long as this calm e quiet is maintained, it will ‎‎be possible to deal with humanitarian issues, ‎‎including the return of the Israeli captives.”‎

Residents of Israeli communities near the Gaza border ‎‎harshly criticized the negotiations with Hamas. ‎

The residents, who have already experienced five ‎‎violated cease-fires in recent months, said they ‎‎believe a large military operation in the Gaza ‎‎Strip is unavoidable.