Israel, Egypt negotiating long-term Gaza cease-fire

[oberliner]

Israel and Egypt are conducting intensive negotiations in an effort to reach a long-term cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which would include reopening the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political-security bureau, visited Cairo on Tuesday for the second time in a week to meet with senior Egyptian officials, who are mediating between Israel and Hamas on this issue. Among others, Gilad apparently met with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has been postponing a planned visit to Israel for the past three weeks. It could be that he will come only after a deal is finalized.

In exchange for a cease-fire, Hamas is demanding that the economic siege of Gaza be lifted. Israel apparently opposes a full lifting of the siege, but might agree to a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing. Reopening Rafah � something the United States has been urging Israel to agree to, at Egypt's behest � would mean bringing back the European monitors who abandoned it when Hamas seized control of the Strip last summer.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/965810.html

[DemocratInSoCal]

1. Long-Term = 3-5 Days

I'm going to be dead before there is any peace between Israel and her neighbors. When are people going to realize, that the oil rich countries surrounding her, have no real desire nor incentive to make peace a reality.

[pegleg]

2. This is fantastic news . It is a start.(or restart)

[MaryCeleste]

3. Nothing will change unless the rockets stop

And Hamas is clearly not willing to do that