RAMALLAH
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are due in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday to resume indirect talks on a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
A member of the Palestinian delegation to the talks said the delegation would head to Cairo on Sunday after it holds consultations with the Palestinian leadership late on Saturday.
Bassam al-Salhi added that delegation members representing Palestinian factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad had also consulted with their leaders on the talks.
On Wednesday, the Palestinians and the Israelis agreed to extend for five more days a three-day Gaza ceasefire that expired by the end of the same day.
A high-ranking Israeli official, meanwhile, said the Israeli delegation would arrive in Cairo on Sunday at most to resume indirect talks with the Palestinians on a permanent arrangement in the Gaza Strip.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the talks would focus on reopening the Rafah crossing on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, giving Palestinian fishermen more space for fishing activities off the coast of Gaza, and allowing the needs of the residents of the Palestinian territory in.
Indirect talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis followed more than a month of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The attacks had left around 1961 Palestinians dead and more than 10,000 others injured.
According to Israeli data, around 64 Israeli troops were also killed in Gaza combat, while three civilians were killed by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
By Qais Abu Samra
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
