United Nations envoy Nickolay Mladenov is in the midst of trying to broker a deal between Israel, Hamas, and the PA, with the support of the U.S. and Egypt, that will tackle the most pressing problems in Gaza as part of a comprehensive package. The proposed ceasefire aims to eliminate Hamas sniper fire and incendiary devices launched into Israel, return the PA to Gaza, enable humanitarian relief for Gazan residents, and promote infrastructure projects to rebuild Gaza and make it more habitable.
Why is it important?
Each side can easily hold this process up by maintaining long-standing demands that have prevented Gaza’s myriad problems from being fixed. Mladenov is an extremely capable UN envoy who has remained untainted by anti-Israel bias. Israel, the PA, and Hamas should empower him to fix Gaza by acceding to all of his requests, and allowing the simultaneous unfolding of a ceasefire, Palestinian reconciliation, and humanitarian aid rather than insisting on preconditions or prior benchmarks that must be met.
i24 News:
UN special envoy visits Cairo to broker Gaza truce, Palestinian reconciliation
United Nations special envoy to the Middle East, Nikolay Mladenov, met on Sunday in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other officials to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip, the advancement of reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the prevention of war with Israel.
Mladenov has made frequent visits in previous weeks at tensions have soared, helping broker a ceasefire amid the greatest flare-up between Israel and Hamas since the 2014 conflict. Some 160 Palestinians have been killed in recent months of protests and clashes on the border, and one Israeli soldier was recently killed in an apparent baited sniper setup.
The Times of Israel:
UN Peace Envoy ‘Positive’ After Talks With Egypt’s Foreign Minister on Gaza
The United Nations envoy for Middle East peace met Sunday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other officials for talks on calming tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, relieving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and reviving the long-stalled peace process.
After the meetings in Cairo, Nickolay Mladenov described the discussions on the prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinians as “positive.”