Many observers believe that the Cairo dialogue aimed at ending the Israeli offensive in Gaza will succeed in accomplishing its goals. They are particularly encouraged by the fact that the talks are designed to deal with a single unified Palestinian delegation, representative of all the factions, rather than with the different factions individually or factional entities such as the Hamas politburo. The Palestinian delegation, supported by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is headed by Azzam Al-Ahmed. It also includes the director of the Palestinian Intelligence Agency, Maged Faraj, and two representatives from Hamas, Ezzat Al-Rashq and Mohammed Nasr from Doha. As the shaky humanitarian truce entered its third day, Cairo contacted Israeli officials to request that Hamas officials Khalil Al-Hayya and Emad Al-Ilmi also attend the talks. Another Hamas official, Moussa Abou Marzouq, who resides in Cairo, is also a member of the delegation. It is understood that he is the person that Cairo wants to speak to from Hamas. Cairo has made it clear from the outset that it is unwilling to receive Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Meshal. Representing the Islamic Jihad is its secretary-general, Ziyad Nakhala, and there is a possibility that another leader of this movement in Gaza, Khaled Al-Batsh, will come. Other members of the delegation are Maher Al-Taher of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Bassa Al-Salehi of the People's Party. The delegation's arrival in Cairo brought an end to the invective and the slur campaigns aimed at distorting the nature of the Egyptian initiative, and brought to a halt attempts to undermine it. Hamas' politburo had wanted Turkey to act as the chief broker of these talks, or Qatar with the US in the near background, and Egypt reduced to a secondary or auxiliary role. A Palestinian source from the delegation told Al-Ahram Weekly that the US has no active role in the current negotiations and that the representative of the International Quartet, Tony Blair, will be monitoring the progress of the talks. Apparently it was Islamic Jihad that persuaded Hamas to stop snubbing Cairo. The source said that Islamic Jihad convinced Hamas that it was pointless to clash with Cairo because Egypt holds the key to a solution. Former Palestinian minister Hassan Asfour, currently in Cairo to follow the talks, revealed some interesting details regarding the behind-the-scenes diplomacy. In an interview with the Weekly, he said: “For Hamas the idea was not to hand Cairo the reins of initiative. They wanted to act on the basis of their Muslim Brotherhood affiliation rather than from the Palestinian standpoint. Meshal lost out by his attempt to forfeit the opportunity of the Cairo initiative. His speech in Doha two weeks ago was disappointing to Palestinians and even a segment of Hamas.” With regard to Mahmoud Abbas, Asfour said: “Abu Mazen [as Abbas is known in Palestine] also confused some issues. In the explanatory memorandum that he submitted on the basis of the Egyptian initiative, has asked for the creation of a weapons monitoring committee from Egypt, Israel, the US and the PA. It is a big mistake to include the US in such a committee and to ignore the UN which could be presumed to undertake that role as a neutral party.” As soon as the delegation members arrived in Egypt they were taken directly to the meeting place in order to draw up the list of demands. As Cairo had made clear, they did not have the luxury of time. Ziyad Nakhala relates that the demands were drawn up at the first meeting. They involve three central points: an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the lifting of the blockade against Gaza. Ziyad continued, “All those rumours and claims that Cairo only wanted to talk about the weapons in the hands of the resistance were unfounded. Cairo did not bring up the matter at all, not even indirectly.” Cairo made it possible for the delegation to overcome many difficulties, such as a dispute over whether to agree to a ceasefire from Gaza before formal negotiations and agreement, he said. He added that the Egyptians were extremely sincere and friendly in offering their advice and assistance. On the second day, the delegation met with the director of Egyptian General Intelligence. Ziyad also described these talks as positive. They outlined Egyptian communications with outside parties, discussed the likelihood of Palestinian demands being met and drew up the key points that could be agreed on in the first three days. Indeed, on the third day, the truce began and Israel announced that it would send a delegation to the talks in response to Egypt's invitation. A Palestinian source in Jerusalem told the Weekly that Israel would deal with the initiative and with Palestinian demands positively, but that it would focus more intensely than ever on the security question and the weapons of the resistance. Most of the members of the Israeli delegation are generals, the source added. All the Palestinian factions remain adamant on the need to lift the blockade against Gaza. From the Egyptian perspective, there must not be any cross-border movement below ground. Egyptians will never permit that. However, there will be a discussion over a mechanism for managing the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side by the PA until the Palestinian reconciliation agreement is put into effect. The agreement calls for the creation of a unified Palestinian security force and an agency to administer Gaza's crossings. A round of talks to discuss such issues will be held immediately after the current round. As for Israel, Asfour said: “Its greatest fear is being dragged before international courts on charges of war crimes, and it has been using this issue as a bartering point in its negotiations.” The former Palestinian minister noted that Abbas had helped Israel bury its war crimes in Gaza before, by “defusing” the Goldstone Report. He added: “The question now is whether he [Abbas] will sign the Rome Statute [of the International Criminal Court] and then back down from [pursuing war crimes charges] in exchange for the promise of the resumption of peace talks. We will see the answer to this in the future.” A Cairo declaration on a ceasefire can be anticipated soon, according to sources contacted by the Weekly. However, they add that a number of details involving military and security arrangements to be mentioned in the memorandums will most likely not be publicised. Such details may concern how Israeli forces are deployed along the border of Gaza, the mechanism for opening the crossings from the Israeli side, and the mechanism for overseeing the reconstruction of Gaza. With regard to the latter point, the PA alone, rather than any of the factions or the Hamas government, will be established as the reconstruction authority in light of a conference for the reconstruction of Gaza that the Arab League will call for after the Cairo declaration — if it is issued.
