Members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement arrived from Gaza on Tuesday to join the Palestinian delegation in talks held in Cairo over a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, state owned news agency MENA reported.
Palestinian sources told MENA that leading Islamic Jihad member Khaled Al-Batash and members of Hamas' political wing Khalil Al-Haya and Emad Al-Alami were now in attendance in Cairo.
The members of the Palestinian delegation could not leave Gaza earlier and join the talks that started on Saturday due to Israeli shelling – but were now able to travel as the shelling stopped early Tuesday as part of a 72-hour ceasefire.
Members of the Palestinian delegation currently in Cairo are Azzam Al-Ahmed of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Ezzat Al-Rashq, Mohamed Nasr and Mousa Abou Marzouk of Hamas, Ziyad Nakhala of Islamic Jihad, Quis Abdel-Kareem of the Democratic Front, Maher Al-Taher of the Popular Front and Bassam Al-Salehi of the People's Party, in addition to Maged Farag, head of Palestinian intelligence.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian delegation officially presented its demands for a permanent ceasefire including an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, halting airstrikes, lifting the Israeli blockade on the coastal strip and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
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