Ceasefire holding, truce in sight
Talks in Cairo during the 72-hour ceasefire are progressing well according to reports.
Israel and Hamas are conducting indirect talks and are believed to be close to an agreement for a long-term ceasefire.
The announcement came following unconfirmed reports that Egypt would agree to allow deployment of 1,000 Palestinian Authority policemen along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
An Egyptian official told an Egyptian newspaper on Tuesday morning (Australian time) that more than 90 per cent of the issues on the table have been solved.
According to reports, Israel may free the Hamas prisoners that were originally released during the Gilad Shalit deal and re-arrested during the recent operation.
Izzat al-Risheq, one of the Hamas officials to the Cairo talks, said that his movement was not opposed to the idea of placing the Rafah terminal under the control of Abbas loyalists – but only on the basis of “partnership” with the PA.
“We have notified President Abbas and the brothers in the Palestinian Authority that we are ready as of now to hand over the Rafah terminal to President Abbas,” al-Risheq said.
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