Egypt stepped into the week-old Israel-Palestine conflict on Monday offering to play peacemaker. Late Monday, the country’s foreign ministry proposed a ceasefire to put a stop to the fighting in its backyard. Here’s what Egypt is proposing, via the Wall Street Journal:
According to a statement, the Egyptian plan would call for a de-escalation in fighting starting at 6 a.m. GMT on Tuesday, followed by a 12-hour period of total calm in which Israel stops air and naval bombardments of Gaza and refrains from a ground offensive, in exchange for Hamas and other Palestinian factions holding fire. Once the violence has stopped, the proposal calls for Israel to open crossings between it and Gaza for the “movement of goods and persons.” Within 48 hours of a cease-fire, Egypt said it would host “high-level delegations from both the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions” for indirect talks on the terms and implementation of a final truce.”
The possible breakthrough comes after a day where “Israel continued its air offensive against militant groups in Gaza and rockets continued to fly out of Gaza into Israel,” the New York Times reports. Both the Israeli government and Hamas have indicated they would consider the Egyptian proposal. “[Israel’s] security cabinet was slated to convene on Tuesday morning to discuss a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt on Monday night,” reports the Jerusalem Post. “The move followed signs of increased diplomatic activity aimed at ending the military confrontation, in which at least 173 Palestinians – mostly civilians, according to the UN – have been killed,” the Guardian reports. There have been no Israeli fatalities, according to the Associated Press. Secretary of State John Kerry and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s are scheduled to arrive in the region on Tuesday.
