Draft Terms of Gaza Truce Would Open Border, Allow in Aid

Hamas Irked as Pact Doesn't Touch on Seaport Demands

The draft terms of a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip were leaked today by an Egyptian newspaper, and revealed more or less the terms that have been discussed over the past several days.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel would end its attacks on the strip and promise no future attacks on Gaza citizens. The Palestinians would also agree to stop firing rockets at Israel, and not to build any tunnels into Israel.

The deal would also reopen the border crossings to allow the flow of aid from the West Bank into Gaza, increasing the fishing zone, and pushing the deployment of Palestinian Authority forces into Gaza.

Neither side has agreed to the deal yet, and Hamas expressed some displeasure about the pact not touching at all on their demands for a seaport overseen by the UN, saying it gives Israel the “upper hand.” Mind you, the pact doesn’t rule out a seaport, it simply doesn’t address it at all.

Islamic Jihad is not really included in the negotiations, as a minor Gaza factions, though they say they believe a ceasefire is more or less a done deal even if the pact isn’t signed, as both sides seem to be de-escalating the situation in recent days.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.