Arabic press review: Egypt says Israel-Hamas ceasefire includes Jerusalem
Egypt says ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will include Jerusalem
Informed sources in Egypt said the ceasefire agreement reached between the Palestinians and Israel included Jerusalem and obliges Israel to stop the displacement of families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, according to the London-based newspaper The New Arab.
"The agreement includes a temporary truce for a period of three days until reaching an agreement on the terms of a permanent ceasefire. The truce includes a ceasefire in all of Palestine and stopping the eviction of Palestinian families from [the] Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied Jerusalem," according to the sources.
Egypt called on Israel to de-escalate as of Friday, while Palestinian factions affirmed their commitment to a new ceasefire agreement as well.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued an order to send two security delegations to Israel and the Gaza Strip to work for the stabilisation of the ceasefire.
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The Egyptian presidency stated that hours before the ceasefire was announced, Sisi received a phone call from US President Joe Biden.
The Egyptian presidency said the two presidents discussed how to stop the violence and escalation in the Palestinian territories in light of the recent developments, adding that the US President expressed deep appreciation for Sisi's tireless efforts with all parties to solve the issue.
Netanyahu failed in Gaza
The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Mohammed al-Hindi, said that the Israeli government is looking for a way to demonstrate a fake victory in Gaza, but failed to do so and was finally forced to adhere to a ceasefire.
According to statements made by Hindi to Arabi21, "the Israeli government [has] run out of time in the wake of its failure on the ground in Gaza, and because of the uprising in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied territories, Netanyahu was forced to accept the ceasefire agreement".
The leader stressed that intensive discussions had taken place over two days with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, noting that "Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement had informed the mediators that the resistance in Gaza is not begging for a truce by which the Israeli enemy does not abide", adding that it was finally agreed that the resistance was ready for a simultaneous ceasefire, provided that Egypt sets the time for starting the armistice.
Hamas posts a video from inside tunnel network
On Friday, Hamas displayed a video for the first time from inside one of the tunnels used by the group.
Falastine newspaper posted a video clip on its website, in which a number of masked fighters were seen moving through the tunnels carrying weapons, missiles and combat equipment.
The video shows "scenes of the readiness and preparation of Hamas fighters inside the tunnels during the battle with the Israeli occupation forces", reported the newspaper.
The video also showed the fighters writing memorial messages on rockets and weapons, as well as paying respect to the Palestinian fighters who got killed by Israel in previous operations.
New political bloc in Egypt to support Palestine
In Egypt, 18 parties, trade unions and political blocs have launched a new bloc in support of the Palestinian people, which they have called the National Committee for the Support of Palestine, the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reported.
The bloc said in a statement that "the inauguration of the committee emanated from our awareness that this is an Arab-Zionist struggle and that each of us is a genuine party to the conflict, and in response to the call of our brothers who are fighting on the front lines in the first ranks to defend all of us, our land, people, sanctities, destinies and even our livelihood matters".
The statement stressed that the main objective of the committee is to support the steadfastness of the legitimate Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation, in all Palestinian lands, from the River to the Sea, by all available means, whether through media or politics, popular or elitist, material or moral.
Immediately after the announcement of its creation, the committee submitted a request to the Ministry of Interior to organise a march in front of the bar association and the journalists' syndicate from downtown Cairo towards the US embassy in Tahrir Square to announce the Egyptians' categorical rejection of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
* Arabic press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.
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