Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal May Pose Threat to Future of Palestinian State

Hamas is at the negotiating table with Israel over the long-term ceasefire and the agreement is close to being achieved, Yasin Aktay, a senior adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, told i24 News.

"Gaza is heading towards a comprehensive agreement on the issue of lifting the blockade and opening the [border] crossings in a long-term ceasefire deal with Israel," Aktay said.

The Turkish official also said that Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal had visited Ankara to specify the details of the deal with participation of Middle East quartet envoy Tony Blair. The representatives from both sides have confirmed that indirect negotiations are in progress, various media has reported.

All of the suggested proposals will be submitted to the Palestinian factions, a Hamas spokesperson said as quoted by Daily Sabah.

The conditions of the possible agreement though haven’t been fully uncovered. The daily pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat spotlighted that Israel is ready to both “entirely” lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and create a passageway to connect it with Cyprus for merchandising purposes. Hamas in its turn will sign a long-term ceasefire, which will allegedly last from seven to 10 years.

Israel is also looking to add to the terms of the deal — the exchange of prisoners by both sides — Hamas daily newspaper al-Resalah reported.

The agreement will reportedly be inked soon, but some Palestinian politicians believe it would divide Gaza and the West bank.

“Gaza faces an unknown future,” he said. “This agreement leads us from political divide to [Gaza’s] secession, making it impossible for Gaza to be part of the future Palestinian state,” Walid Awadh, a member of the Palestinian People’s Party (PPP), formerly the Communist Party, in Gaza told the time of Israel.

“[I]s Gaza a humanitarian issue [only] or is it part of the Palestinian homeland?” echoed the politician Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmi.