What path was followed to reach ceasefire agreement in Gaza?

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
14 May 2023 03:36
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Al Mayadeen analyst for Arab and regional affairs says the PIJ emphasized preventing the assassination of any Palestinian individual, whether civilian or military.

Palestinians take cover behind a wall as a building in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip is hit by an Israeli occupation airstrike, on May 12, 2023 (AFP)

After the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation was announced, Al Mayadeen analyst for Arab and regional affairs, Abdelrahman Nassar, touched on the path that was followed to reach a ceasefire.

Nassar asserted that the Palestinian Resistance's position was clear from the beginning, which is that it will not end this round unless it forces the Israeli occupation to stop the assassinations and targeting of leaders, as well as the bombing of homes and civilians.

Nassar pointed out that during negotiations, the PIJ emphasized preventing the assassination of any Palestinian individual, whether civilian or military.

He indicated that the PIJ was aspiring to stop the assassinations in the West Bank and Gaza, however, the Egyptian mediators asked to remove the phrase "in the West Bank and Gaza" from the ceasefire agreement text and replace it with all of occupied Palestine.

Likewise, he pointed out that when discussing the clause on stopping assassinations, the Israelis attempted to play a maneuver, whereby they first pledged to stop assassinating commanders, excluding field cadres. However, the PIJ rejected this matter and insisted on including field cadres in the agreement.

According to Nassar, it was this sentence that impeded reaching an agreement over the course of four days.

He explained that the Egyptian mediators have reduced in the last two days the level of communication with the occupation because they sensed that the occupation army and the Shin Bet wanted to end this round quickly, while Israeli PM Netanyahu and his ministers wanted to pursue the aggression fearing the fall of their government.

Al Mayadeen analyst for Arab and regional affairs explained that the Egyptian mediators took two steps. The first was to lower the level of representation, while the second step was to inform US officials that "Israel" is the intransigent side and not the Palestinians, as the latter's condition is clear and they have the right to stick to it.

On his part, political affairs writer, Ahmad Abdelrahman, confirmed to Al Mayadeen that the PIJ had obtained a pledge through the Egyptian mediators to stop the assassinations.

Abdelrahman highlighted that Al-Quds Brigades fired more than 1,200 rockets during Operation Avenging the Free and used an anti-aircraft missile and a Cornet missile.

He also revealed that Al-Quds Brigades fired an unprecedented rocket, characterized by great speed, which the Iron Dome failed to intercept, adding that the Resistance used three other new rockets that it had not previously used.

'Israel' pledged to stop assassinations: Resistance sources- Exclusive

Sources in the Resistance told Al Mayadeen on Saturday that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement obtained an undeclared Israeli pledge to stop assassinations implicitly implied in the expression of “individuals” in the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement.

Before the ceasefire entered into force, the Palestinian Resistance said it hit "Tel Aviv", occupied cities, and the Gaza envelope settlements with intense salvoes of rockets until the last second.

In the same context, the Israeli occupation's "National" Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, said "Israel" has agreed to the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire but said that "quiet will be met with quiet," as per a statement issued by the office of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier, Egyptian media reported that Cairo-mediated a ceasefire between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation that took effect at 10 pm Saturday.

The ceasefire agreement text stated that Cairo urged the two sides to implement the agreement and is working to follow up on that by communicating with them.

According to the text, the ceasefire between the two sides will be adhered to, and it includes stopping the targeting of civilians and individuals and the demolition of homes.

Israeli media cited a security source as saying that the Israeli occupation did not commit to stopping the assassinations.

This comes after the Israeli occupation launched a five-day heinous aggression against the Gaza Strip, targeting residential houses in the north, center, and south of the Strip.

In retaliation, Al-Quds Brigades and the Palestinian Resistance factions launched Operation Avenging the Free, in which it fired advanced rockets and missiles that bypassed the Iron Dome and targeted several Israeli settlements, occupied cities, and occupation sites.

Former Israeli occupation Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Israeli Channel 12 that 70% of illegal Israeli settlers in the south fled due to the Palestinian Resistance's rocket fire.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinians killed in the aggression rose to 33 martyrs, including six children and three women, and 147 people were wounded.