Hamas said on Thursday that any proposal for a long-term truce with Israel would be brought to the attention of other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said his movement held talks with representatives of various factions, including Fatah, to brief them on recent efforts to achieve a truce with Israel. He noted that Hamas leaders held talks about the proposed truce with European officials, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who until recently served as the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East. Kayed al-Ghul, a senior official of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), said that he heard from Hamas leaders that the movement still hasn't reached agreement with Blair or any other European party about the proposed truce. Al-Ghul pointed out that the reports in the media about an imminent truce agreement between Hamas and Israel did not reflect the true and declared position of the movement's leaders in the Gaza Strip. He said that the proposals received by Hamas call for halting the development of weapons and the digging of tunnels in return for lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip. The proposals, according to the PFLP official, also envisage the creation of a "water passage" to the Gaza Strip that would be under the supervision of Israel. He added that various international parties have been making serious efforts to reach an agreement between Hamas and Israel that would be compatible with the latter's conditions. The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper claimed on Thursday that Israel has agreed to the creation of a "water passage" between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip as part of a deal to reach a long-term truce of seven to 10 years. The report quoted unnamed Palestinian sources as saying that Israel has agreed to fully remove the blockade on the Gaza Strip, paving the way for the reconstruction of the houses that were destroyed during the last military confrontation between Hamas and Israel. The sources also claimed that Israel was still refusing to allow the Palestinians to rebuild the international airport in the southern Gaza Strip, which operated briefly before its closure at the beginning of the second intifada. According to the sources, Israel also rejected an offer by Qatar to fund the building of a new airport inside Israel in return for the reopening of the Palestinian airport, which carries the name of Yasser Arafat. In the context of the efforts to achieve a long-term truce, Blair met this week in Qatar with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. It was the second meeting of its kind between the two in the past two months. Some reports have suggested that the efforts have made progress toward reaching a deal.
