Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – A senior Palestinian official Monday said that Israel hinders the possibility of reaching ceasefire with Palestinians. Nabil Sha'ath, a Palestinian negotiator and member of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Central Committee, told the Voice of Palestine Radio that “the Egyptian efforts to reach a ceasefire failed due to Israel's demands and its refusal to accept the demands of Palestinian movements including Hamas.” Sha'ath added that the Palestinian movements' demands include the lifting of the siege Israel imposed on the Gaza Strip in 2006, international assurances for the cessation of targeted killings against Palestinians, the Rafah crossing on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to remain open and the cessation of attacks on fishermen off the coast. The Fatah official said that Israel in turn demanded a ceasefire for a period of more than 15 years, Hamas and other armed groups stop smuggling weapons into the territory and that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip refrain from approaching a security zone by the border. On Sunday, Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mish'al met in Cairo with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and discussed with him ways of ending the Israeli aggression. Later on the day, Morsi also met Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah and discussed with him the escalation in the Gaza Strip.
