Hamas: Indirect talks with Israel on a truce in Gaza are "progressing"
Talks mediated by the UN and Egypt regarding an agreement to reduce tensions between Israel and the Gaza Strip are in "advanced stages," said a high-ranking member of the Islamist militant group Hamas, which is dominant in the Palestinian enclave.
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) Talks mediated by the United Nations (UN) and Egypt regarding an agreement to reduce tensions between Israel and the Gaza Strip are in "advanced stages," a senior member of the Islamist militant group Hamas, which is dominant in the Palestinian enclave, said on Wednesday.
The comments were echoed by a prominent Israeli parliamentarian, suggesting possible progress after four months of clashes and confrontations that have prompted mutual threats of war.
On March 30, residents of Gaza began weekly, sometimes violent, protests at the border with Israel, and their unrest was exacerbated by an Israeli-Egyptian blockade and funding cuts for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is a rival of Hamas and has Western support.
The Israeli army killed at least 158 Palestinians, and a sniper from Gaza killed an Israeli soldier. Israel lost stretches of forest and farmland due to fires started by incendiary kites and helium balloons launched over its border. There were also several artillery fire exchanges, most without casualties.
Neither Hamas nor Israel, who last clashed in 2014, seem willing to engage in another open conflict. But public demands from both sides for the release of a detainee held by the opposing side appear to be an obstacle to achieving a long-term truce.
“We can say that the actions led by the UN and Egypt are in advanced stages, and we hope they will yield something good,” Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' deputy chief in Gaza, told Al Jazeera television.
"What is needed is for calm to be restored along the border between us and the Zionist enemy (Israel)."
Israel downplayed the prospects of a comprehensive ceasefire, speaking instead of more limited compensation.
In exchange for a move to ease tensions in Gaza, Israeli officials said on Sunday they would reopen a border trading terminal that had been closed in response to fire damage and expand a Palestinian fishing zone.
Avi Dichter, chairman of Israel's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defense, struck an optimistic but cautious tone on Wednesday. "I truly hope we are on the eve of a new day on the Gaza issue," he told reporters.