An Egyptian delegation is to visit Israel to discuss the cease-fire with Hamas
and other border issues, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported on
Tuesday.
The Egyptians plan to demand that Israel allow more goods to
enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing from Sinai, according to an
Egyptian official quoted in the report.
“Israel has agreed to allow entry
of construction material from Qatar, which the Israelis refused before. This
reflects that both sides have been holding talks behind the scenes to avoid
alerting public opinion in Egypt which refuses cooperation with Israel and the
United States,” the official said.
The report also said that an Israeli
delegation had been in Cairo on Sunday, the second such visit within a
week.
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said the talks with Israel
dealt only with the cease-fire deal that ended Operation Pillar of Defense in
November, according to Ma’an.