Washington - Saba:
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed Wednesday that a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip is close.
Sullivan said in press statements: "We are close to the goal of the negotiations on Gaza, and with the pressure of the mediators and the commitment of Israel and Hamas, we can achieve this."
He added: "The obstacles preventing reaching an agreement are related to the details and determining the names of the hostages and prisoners who will be released."
He pointed out that "Netanyahu" made it clear that "Israel" is ready to conclude an agreement, so Hamas must commit to releasing the hostages in the first stage.
In the same context, an American official told Yedioth Ahronoth: "The agreement in Gaza is only a matter of time."
In turn, a leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" said that the ongoing negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza were able to resolve the vast majority of the points of contention, adding that the agreement may be in the final touches stage.
The leader, who refused to reveal his identity to the Qatari newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed, said that the indirect negotiations in Doha resolved the thorny points in the file of Palestinian prisoners with high sentences who are scheduled to be included in the exchange deal, noting that "90% of this file has been resolved and there are still some minor remarks."
He added: "It can be said that we are about to announce reaching a real agreement unless any new demands or remarks are added by the Israeli occupation government," noting that "the discussion of the proposed vision has been completed and understandings have been reached regarding all its provisions."
This comes at a time when Hamas confirmed in an official statement issued by its leadership yesterday, Tuesday, "that in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place in Doha under the auspices of Qatari and Egyptian mediators, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation stops setting new conditions."
Sources revealed that a leadership delegation from Hamas is scheduled to arrive in Cairo within two days to discuss the agreement file and the Gaza Administration Committee, which is a major part of the expected agreement, as it is scheduled to operate the Rafah land crossing according to the mechanism of the 2005 agreement with the occupation government, and for the authority to be on the Palestinian side of the crossing.
The arrival of the Hamas delegation to Cairo is scheduled to coincide with the arrival of an "Israeli" delegation to discuss points related to the agreement regarding the operation of the crossing and the nature of the Israeli presence in the Salah al-Din "Philadelphi" border corridor.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to arrive in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Wednesday, based on an Egyptian invitation to hold in-depth discussions on his position rejecting the formation of the Gaza Administration Committee despite Hamas announcing its approval of it.
Abbas's discussions are also scheduled to include developments in the situation in the West Bank and "Israeli" attempts to annex it, in light of estimates related to the support of the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump for this trend.
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