Egypt proposes a not-totally-implausible Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan
Starting at 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Israel and Hamas might hit pause on their mounting military showdown. Almost 200 Palestinians have been killed in the weeklong aerial battle — Israel's fighter jets versus Hamas rockets fired from Gaza, mostly — and Egypt is trying to calm things down. A senior Israeli officials tells The New York Times that the Egyptian ceasefire plan is "being considered very seriously" by Tel Aviv, and Hamas didn't reject it outright.
Egypt's plan calls for Israel to re-open the border crossing to Gaza, with people and goods allowed through when the security situation "becomes stable on the ground." Two days after that happens, Israel and Hamas are supposed to meet for talks in Cairo; U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry could arrive in Cairo as early as Tuesday, Egyptian officials say.
This isn't a done deal. The Hamas military al-Qassam Brigades faction has rejected the reported text of the Egyptian proposal, Reuters reports. Egypt's traditional role as mediator of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts has been jeopardized by Hamas' anger over the ouster of elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood, a Hamas ally. Egypt's new president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, led the military unseating of Morsi.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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