US could finalize revised draft of ceasefire proposal by weekend
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The White House is finalizing a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange, addressing key issues like 'Israel's' demand for a presence in the Philadelphi corridor and the details of a prisoner exchange.
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A Palestinian flag is seen against the wall of the Philadelphi corridor near Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, July 1, 2007. (AP)
The White House is working to finalize a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of Israeli captives being held in the Gaza Strip.
According to US officials and sources in Egypt, the proposal aims to address key issues that have stalled the negotiations mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.
According to US claims, much of the agreement is in place, however, negotiators maintain that they are yet to resolve two main obstacles.
The key issues still being negotiated are, on the one hand, "Israel's" demand to maintain a presence in the Philadelphi corridor. The corridor is meant to become, for all Israeli occupation purposes, a buffer zone in southern Gaza along the Egyptian border.
On the other hand, the second key problem has been determining which Palestinian detainees will be included in the proposed exchange of Israeli occupation captives for Palestinian detainees held in Israeli occupation prisons, according to an unnamed administration official.
"The feeling is that time is up. Don't be surprised if you see [the revised draft] this weekend," said one official who spoke to Reuters.
Another US official underscored that "There is a very strong perception on the part of the negotiators that the ceasefire is slipping away."
Kirby: beyond pressuring Netanyahu
Kirby stated that the US administration is using more than just pressure to persuade Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Resistance's Hamas movement to finalize a ceasefire deal.
Kirby further emphasized that the administration is focused on "active, constructive conversations about negotiating the final details" rather than solely applying pressure.
He added, "I don’t buy this notion that there’s no pressure being put on Hamas or Hamas leaders. The indictments that were unsealed yesterday prove that as well."
Netanyahu's claims regarding Egypt aimed at justifying failure: Source
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is spreading lies to cover up his failures in Gaza, a high-ranking source told the Al Qahera News website on Wednesday.
The source added that Netanyahu's claims regarding "weapons smuggling from Egypt" are yet another falsehood aimed at justifying his government's failure to control the flow of weapons into the Gaza Strip.
The high-ranking source emphasized that the Israeli government has completely lost its credibility, both domestically and internationally, yet it continues to spread lies to obscure its failures.
Netanyahu, through his allegations of "weapons being transferred from Egypt to Gaza," is laying the groundwork to announce his security and political failures, his inability to locate Israeli captives in Gaza, and his failure to achieve any military victory in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the source said.
According to the source, all parties are frustrated with the Israeli Prime Minister's continued sabotage of efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.
The source mentioned that Netanyahu's statements are nothing but a "preemptive message to the United States," indicating his rejection of any ceasefire proposals and thwarting all efforts for de-escalation and prisoner exchange.
In the same vein, the Israeli channel Makan cited an Egyptian source as saying that "Netanyahu is ready to burn Israel for his own interests," after Cairo closely followed the Israeli premier's press conference a couple of days ago, in which he put Egypt in the spotlight in the context of the Philadelphi Corridor issue.
The least that can be said is that the Egyptians were not pleased with Netanyahu's statements, the Egyptian source indicated.
Read more: Hamdan: Hamas does not care about verbal promises from Mossad chief
