An Egyptian official blew up a possible cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas this month when he covertly changed the proposal’s framework already greenlit by the Jewish state to include more demands from the terror group, according to a report.
Three sources told CNN Tuesday the deal fell apart after senior Egyptian intelligence official Ahmed Abdel Khalek made last-minute changes in an offer to Hamas without informing the Israelis all while keeping the fellow mediators, the US and Qatar, in the dark.
“We were all duped,” one of the sources reportedly said.
Abdel Khalek conveyed one set of terms to Israel and another to Hamas, in which the Palestinian leaders received more of their demands, CNN reported.
“All sides were under the assumption the Egyptians provided the same document,” that Israel approved, one of the sources told the outlet.
The details signed off on by Hamas included the goal of reaching a permanent cease-fire and a “sustainable calm” during the second phase of the three-part agreement, according to a Hamas document obtained by CNN.
Hamas announced it had agreed to a cease-fire to much celebration in Gaza on May 6, but Israeli officials were quick to note they had not approved the proposed framework because it was a “softened” version of what was originally on the table.
One Israeli official at the time told Reuters it was a ruse by the terror group in hopes of creating backlash against Israel for not going along with the deal.
If a deal was reached, it could have led to a temporary stop in the fighting in Gaza as Israel was ready to enter Rafah and the release of some Israeli hostages and even more Palestinian prisoners.
