The Daily Populous Thursday May 23rd, 2024 day edition
Authored by jpost.com and submitted by Hadrian_Constantine

Egypt threatened on Wednesday to withdraw as a mediator in Gaza ceasefire negotiations after CNN reported that Egyptian intelligence changed the terms of a recent truce proposal and scuttled a deal.

"Attempts to cast doubt and offend Egypt's mediation efforts... will only lead to further complications of the situation in Gaza and the entire region and may push Egypt to completely withdraw from its mediation in the current conflict," Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt's State Information Service, said in a statement published on social media.

Quoting three people familiar with the discussions, CNN on Tuesday said Egyptian intelligence changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel agreed to earlier in May.

When Hamas announced on May 6 that it accepted the agreement, it was not the proposal that fellow mediators from the U.S. and Qatar thought was submitted to Hamas for review, according to CNN. DISPLACED PALESTINIANS, who fled Rafah as the IDF began evacuating civilians ahead of a threatened assault, travel on a vehicle in Khan Yunis, earlier this month. Israel has taken unprecedented measures to protect civilians, the writer asserts. (credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

The changes made by Egyptian intelligence caused anger and recrimination among US, Israeli and Qatari officials and caused an impasse in the talks, the CNN report said.

The CIA, whose director, William Burns, has been leading the US mediation efforts, declined to comment on the report.

Rashwan said in the statement that Cairo's participation as a mediator resulted from "repeated requests and insistence" from Israel and the US

Egypt said some "parties" recently directed blame towards Egyptian and Qatari mediators and accused them of being biased, he added.

Tensions have been growing between Egypt and Israel over the Israeli military operation in Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, just across the border from Egypt.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, Egypt has expressed concern that Israel's campaign could push residents of the Palestinian enclave across its border, where it has bolstered security.

Shancv1988 on May 22nd, 2024 at 23:42 UTC »

No one is "attempting" to doubt Egypt's role. They're doubting Egypt's role.

Shiplord13 on May 22nd, 2024 at 23:02 UTC »

They did it to themselves. They engaged in actions that compromised the mediating process, by changing the agreement after one side voiced their approval and tried to present said altered form to the other side with the first side kept in the dark about the changes. They were not acting as a neutral mediator and have shown favoritism towards one side over the other with their actions.

TryIsntGoodEnough on May 22nd, 2024 at 21:47 UTC »

... Egypt literally got caught falsifying/modifying an agreement after Israel agreed to it. I doubt Israel will ever trust Egypt again