Moussa Abu-Marzouq, deputy political chief of the Islamic Hamas movement, on Wednesday ended talks with senior Egyptian officials on a truce deal with Israelis and left for Syria, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported.
Abu-Marzouq and Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman tackled Egyptian efforts to help reach a ceasefire between Palestinians and Israel in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the report said, without noting whether there is progress on bridging differences between the two sides.
Egypt has been trying to broker a truce to end violence that could wreck U.S.-backed peace negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which resumed at the Annapolis peace conference last November.
Abu-Marzouq and another senior Hamas member and former Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar on Tuesday held talks with Suleiman to hear Israel's response to the proposal of a Palestinian-Israeli ceasefire.
Suleiman's visit to Israel last week resulted in Israeli leaders' understanding and support for the Egyptian vision on a comprehensive and reciprocal ceasefire between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, according to MENA.
However, there are reports that Israel and Hamas still differ on terms for the Egyptian-brokered Gaza ceasefire on the aspects of reopening Gaza's border crossings and releasing of a captured Israeli soldier held by Hamas in Gaza since 2006.
Israel has demanded a deal with Hamas address the issue of the captive Israeli soldier, while Hamas has said the truce deal and the release of Gilad Shalit should remain separate issues.
If the truce deal is agreed upon between Gaza and Israel, the latter is supposed to lift the blockade imposed on Gaza and open the border crossings and ease the restrictions on movement of people and goods.
An Israeli blockade on Gaza since last June worsened the daily life of some 1.5 million population there due to shortage of fuel, electricity and basic needs for industry and constructions.
Source:Xinhua
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