PA parliament backs ceasefire agreement

Deputy chairman of PA parliament says the legislature supports ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Ahmed Bahar, deputy chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA) parliament and a senior Hamas member in Gaza, says that the PA parliament, where there is an overwhelming majority for Hamas, supports a truce agreement with Israel that would break the siege on Gaza, bring an end to the PA’s economic sanctions on Gaza and unite the Palestinian people.

Bahar made the comments as he took part in one of the so-called “return processions” in Rafah on Friday. He stressed the importance of completing the internal Palestinian reconciliation efforts in order to preserve the unity of the Palestinian people and their land.

He added that the negotiations in Cairo on the truce agreement with Israel are based on the principle imposed by the “resistance organizations”, according to which bloodshed will be met with bloodshed and shelling will be met with shelling. Bahar praised the “resistance organizations” which, he claimed, succeeded in implementing that deterring strategy against Israel.

On Friday, the Palestinian Arab Ma'an news agency published details about the potential ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza.

According to the report, the agreement does not include a demand to stop the demonstrations on the Gaza border but does include an obligation by Hamas to prevent the participants from approaching the border fence and to stop launching incendiary kites and balloons at Israel.

A senior Hamas source said that the issue of the civilians and bodies of Israeli soldiers held by Hamas would not be discussed until Israel's intentions regarding the lifting of the blockade on Gaza are clarified. He estimated that the issue would be relevant two months after the implementation of the ceasefire.

Later on Friday, senior Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya said the talks with Israel, which are brokered by Egypt and the UN, were in “the final stretch.”

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said on Friday evening that the talks will resume after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha next week.


Meanwhile, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday slammed the Egyptian proposal for peace between Hamas and Israel, saying that either Hamas or the PA must control Gaza, Judea, and Samaria.

Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah faction have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas violently took control of Gaza in a bloody coup.

In October 2017, Hamas and the PA signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo, under which the PA was to resume full control of Gaza by December 1. However, the deal never completely implemented due what was described as “obstacles.”
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