by Marwa Yahya
CAIRO, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt attempts to break the peace stalemate and revive negotiations between Palestine and Israel via intensifying contacts with both sides, said political experts.
Chief of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel, on Wednesday paid a visit to Palestine and Israel to discuss the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement.
The visit, where the Egyptian intelligence chief met both Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, came upon directives of Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, according to official news agency MENA.
During the visit, Kamel conveyed a message of support to the Palestinian cause and an invitation for Bennett to visit Cairo in the coming weeks.
Such contacts were conducted days after a meeting of the CIA Director William Burns with al-Sisi in Cairo on Sunday.
"Kamel's visit to Palestine and Israel aimed at fixing the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, that followed an 11-day conflict in May, along with pursuing to resume the peace process," Tariq Fahmy, professor of political sciences with Cairo University, told Xinhua.
Fahmy said that Egypt's recent moves are all associated with Egyptian comprehensive plans to fix the ceasefire truce, provide facilities to the Gaza Strip population and begin the reconstruction project in Gaza.
On May 21, Egypt sponsored a truce deal between Israel and the Palestinian armed factions in Gaza after the 11-day clash that killed over 250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, according to official statistics.
The political expert highlighted that the Egyptian moves are highly boosted by the United States, adding that there is direct coordination between Cairo and Washington to convince Tel Aviv for opening serious negotiations after conditions have been relatively stabilized in Israel.
Fahmy also explained that Egypt works in different directions and promotes an incentive list for each side, adding that Cairo will welcome Bennett to strengthen his position and to encourage him to get involved in real negotiations.
He expected that Cairo, likewise Camp David, will be a center for negotiations between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides with the U.S. mediation.
He added that different scenarios have been proposed to the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, stressing his confidence that the new Israeli government wanted calm with the Palestinians to last and to resume the peace process.
"Egypt enjoys credibility and trust of all parties. Egypt's role isn't a firefighter (in reference to reaching the past ceasefire in Gaza Strip), it rather endeavors to resume direct peace negotiations and achieve rapprochement among different opinions," Fahmy added.
Though Egypt is keen to maintain its regional stability and maintain peace between Israel and Palestine, entering serious peace negotiations is basically connected to the willingness of the warring sides.
Meanwhile, Jihad al-Harazeen, professor of legal and political sciences, also a member of the Fatah movement, said "Egypt bids to soften the iced walls and build paths for resuming peace talks."
The Palestinian expert emphasized that Egypt has been developing a way of solving the Palestinian cause and breaking the political stalemate since 2014.
Al-Harazeen said that "Egypt has a pivotal role and is active in this issue." Enditem
