Egyptian Proposal for Ceasefire

On July 15th, 2014, Egypt called upon Israel and Hamas to sign a ceasefire and end the fighting surrounding Operation Protective Edge. Israel agreed to the proposal, Hamas did not.

Owing to Egypt’s historical responsibility, and its belief in the importance of achieving peace in the region, protecting the lives of innocents, and ending the bloodshed -- Egypt calls upon Israel and all of the Palestinian factions to enact an immediate ceasefire, due to the fact that escalation and mutual violence, and the victims that will result, will not be in the interest of either party; as such, during the period of the ceasefire, both sides shall abide by the following:

a. Israel shall cease all hostilities against the Gaza Strip via land, sea, and air, and shall commit to refrain from conducting any ground raids against Gaza and targeting civilians.

b. All Palestinian factions in Gaza shall cease all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel via land, sea, air, and underground, and shall commit to refrain from firing all types of rockets, and from attacks on the borders or targeting civilians.

c. Crossings shall be opened and the passage of persons and goods through border crossings shall be facilitated once the security situation becomes stable on the ground.

d. Other issues, including security issues shall be discussed with the two sides.

Method of implementation of the initiative:

a. It has been decided to initiate implementation of the de-escalation agreements at 9:00 a.m. on July 15th, 2014, pending the implementation of a full ceasefire within twelve hours of the announcement of the Egyptian initiative and its unconditional acceptance by both sides.

b. High-level delegations from both the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions shall be hosted in Cairo within 48 hours of the initiation of the initiative’s implementation, in order to conclude talks for the consolidation of the ceasefire and resume confidence-building measures between the two sides; talks shall be held with each of the two sides separately (in accordance with the agreements for the consolidation of de-escalation in Cairo in 2012).

c. Both sides shall commit to refrain from taking any actions aimed at undermining the implementation of the agreements; Egypt shall receive guarantees from both sides of their commitment to implementing what has been agreed upon, and shall follow up on its implementation and engage with either side in the case of any action that impinges on its stability.

Source: Jerusalem Post