A senior Palestinian official said Qatari and Egyptian mediators have presented a new proposal to end the war in Gaza that calls for a five- to seven-year ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, an end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the BBC reported today.
A Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas had signaled its willingness to hand over control of Gaza to any Palestinian entity agreed upon "at the national and regional levels." The official said that could be the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority or a newly formed administrative body.
The last ceasefire broke down a month ago when Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza, with both sides blaming each other for failing to continue. Israel has not commented on the mediator's plan.
As Israel continues its offensive, talks will be held in Cairo with Hamas, represented by the head of its political council, Mohamed Darwish, and its lead negotiator, Khalil al-Haya.
The meeting took place a few days after the Palestinian Islamist movement rejected Israel's latest proposal, which included a demand that Hamas disarm in exchange for a six-week ceasefire.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not end the war until Hamas was destroyed and all hostages were returned. Hamas has asked Israel to commit to ending the war before the hostages are released.
Netanyahu has rejected any role for the PA in the future governance of Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.
While it is still too early to assess the likelihood of success, the source described the current mediation efforts as serious and said Hamas had shown "unprecedented flexibility."
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