An Israeli defense source said this morning that he believed that, unless there was a last minute hitch, Egypt would announce an "open" one-month cease-fire this evening, with the agreement of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. This will initially be in exchange for the opening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, for passage of civilians. Israeli sources point out that opening the Rafah crossing depends on the Egyptians, not on Israel.
In the second stage, if the cease-fire holds, Palestinians will be allowed to fish up to three miles off the Gaza Strip coast, with the limit being extended to six and then twelve miles later on. At the same time, the Kerem Shalom crossing will be opened for the transfer of tradable goods such as food, and at a later stage for construction materials as well.
Another Israeli defense source stressed that an Egyptian declaration of a cease-fire depended first and foremost on Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashaal, who has been intervening in events in the Gaza Strip through senior figures in Hamas's military wing, so that it was not possible to predict what would happen this evening.
Israeli sources said this morning that no cease-fire had yet been agreed, and that the IDF was continuing its attacks on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. Diplomatic sources stress that Israeli remains committed to the Egyptian outline in which the cessation of all firing from the Gaza Strip comes before any resumption of negotiations.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 25, 2014
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