PHOTO: Gazan woman inspects her damaged home in Shaja’ia on Monday (Hatem Moussa/Associated Press)
UPDATE 1530 GMT: There appears to be little progress in the talks in Cairo.
A “senior Israeli official” said there is a long way to go before any agreement to end the 36-day war: “The gaps are still very wide.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a Security Cabinet meeting because of the lack of substantive developments.
A Palestinian official says that Monday’s talks were “difficult and grueling”, but today’s are “the most important”, covering issues such as Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
The indirect negotiations are scheduled to last into the evening.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Economy Naftali Bennett has objected to a key Hamas condition, the payment of salaries of Gazan civil servants.
Bennett said:
Let’s tell the truth: The money will be handed to the terrorists who dig [tunnels] under us, to rocket manufacturers and those who shoot at us.
It’s actually a diplomatic protection racket: pay us — and we’ll shoot at you later. Don’t pay us — and we’ll shoot at you now.
We can’t fight Hamas while funding it at the same time.
UPDATE 1220 GMT: An interesting power play among the Palestinian factions this morning….
According to The Times of Israel, the head of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, Palestinian Authority official Azzam Al-Ahmad, told it that Hamas’s rule in Gaza is coming to a close:
Israel needs to understand that the period of Hamas rule in Gaza is over and to act in full cooperation with the PA and the government of (PA Prime Minister) Rami Hamdallah, which will be the sovereign authority in the territories, including Gaza.
Hamas defeated its rival Fatah, the main force in the Palestinian Authority, in elections in Gaza in 2006 and then in a brief armed confrontation in 2007.
In April, Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement for a “unity” Government. Israel withdrew from negotiations with Palestine within days, and has been trying to split the parties and foster the Palestinian Authority’s rule over Gaza.
UPDATE 0550 GMT: The UN’s attempt on Monday to name a panel to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza is already being challenged by the denunciations of Israel and the US.
The UN Human Rights Council, which had approved the panel on July 23, designated William Schabas, a Canadian professor of international law, as chairman with Doudou Diene, a Senegalese veteran UN human rights expert, and Amal Alamuddin, a British-Lebanese lawyer, as the other members.
Israel immediately responded that the initiative was a “kangaroo court” which has already decided on its guilt, while the US said the commission was a “one-sided” inquiry.
In contrast, Hamas welcomed “the decision to form an investigation committee into the war crimes committed by the occupation ([srael] against Gaza and it urges that it begin work as soon as possible”.
Alamuddin, the fiancée of actor George Clooney, turned down the appointment on Monday night: “I am honored to have received the offer, but given existing commitments — including eight ongoing cases — unfortunately could not accept this role.”
Indirect talks continue in Cairo today between Palestinian and Israeli factions in an effort to end the 35-day Gaza War.
Accompanied by a 72-hour ceasefire, the discussions resumed on Monday morning with the return of Israel’s delegation, following a reversal by West Jerusalem in its acceptance of the negotiations.
Rumors and chatter about the talks spread on Monday, without any confirmation of developments. The Egyptian daily al-Shorouk claimed from “knowledgeable sources” that the two sides have agreed on 95% of the issues, with Israeli refusing only to discuss the immediate establishment of a seaport and an airport and release of the final tranche of Palestinian detainees held from before the 1993 Oslo Agreement.
The newspaper claimed Israel has agreed to expand the permitted fishing zone in Gaza’s waters from 3 to 6 miles; to re-release Hamas prisoners, freed in exchange for the return of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit but then arrested again; and to allow the transfer of salaries to civil servants in Gaza.
The report also said Israel has agreed to reactivate all border crossings into Gaza Strip, with the presence of European Union observers. A separate agreement will be pursued between Egypt and the Palestinian Authority over the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
