Senior officials of the rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss forming a committee to manage Gaza's post-war governance, an Egyptian security source was quoted as saying by Egypt's Al Qahera News TV on Saturday.
Israel rejects any role by Hamas in Gaza after the war is ended and has said it doesn't trust the rival Palestinian Authority of Abbas to run the enclave either © Mena Today
Senior officials of the rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss forming a committee to manage Gaza's post-war governance, an Egyptian security source was quoted as saying by Egypt's Al Qahera News TV on Saturday.
The talks are part of Egypt's broader mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.
Leaders from Hamas and the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Cairo last month to discuss forming the committee based on a proposal put forward by Egypt, but talks were adjourned for later discussion, sources close to the talks told Reuters.
The sources said the committee would be made up of independent Palestinian figures not aligned to a particular movement, addressing the question of who would run Gaza after the year-long war is over.
Israel rejects any role by Hamas in Gaza after the war is ended and has said it doesn't trust the rival Palestinian Authority of Abbas to run the enclave either.
Mediators, including Egypt and Qatar with backing from the United States, have so far failed to secure a truce that would end the Gaza war and facilitate a release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas, along with thousands of Palestinians detained by Israel.
Hamas is pressing for an end to hostilities while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the war will continue until Hamas is dismantled.
Hamas political official Izzat al-Risheq dismissed proposals of limited or temporary truces as "smokescreens".
"We are positively open to any proposals or ideas that ensure the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza," al-Risheq said in a statement.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Adam Makary and Ahmed Tolba
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Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Houthis, while Saudi's top religious authority told troops to be ready to lay down their lives to fight their Iran-aligned enemy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a forceful defense of Israel's actions in the region at the UN on Thursday, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out.
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