A leader in the Palestinian Hamas movement revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit of the movement’s largest delegation to Cairo since the Gaza war on Tuesday included a meeting with the director of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Hassan Rashad, during which arrangements for negotiations on the second phase of the “truce” agreement with Israel were discussed, the first of whose three phases began on January 19, in addition to the future of the administration of the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas delegation, headed by Mohammed Darwish, head of the movement’s leadership council and head of the movement’s Shura Council, included the leadership council and the movement’s negotiating delegation, namely (Khaled Meshaal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, Nizar Awadallah, Mohammed Nasr, and Ghazi Hamad), according to a press statement by the movement on Monday, following the delegation’s arrival in Cairo.

The Hamas delegation's visit to Cairo coincides with statements by Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari on Tuesday at a press conference that mediators are continuing to prepare the atmosphere for the start of the second phase of negotiations, the day after the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Israel and Hamas had begun, through mediators, preliminary talks on the framework for the upcoming negotiations and that a meeting could be held in Qatar next week.

Taher al-Nunu, a leader in the movement and its advisor, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The visit has several objectives, including discussing the implementation of the ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners, receiving the released prisoners on Saturday, and listening to their demands.”

Al-Nunu added that the delegation met with the Director of Intelligence, Major General Hassan Rashad, and during the meeting, they thanked the Egyptian leadership for its role in the negotiations and the entry of aid, and appreciated its position rejecting displacement. He pointed out that during the meeting, they discussed the future of the Gaza administration, and the movement stressed the importance of seeking to form a national consensus government or implementing the Egyptian proposal to form an independent community support committee. He continued, saying: “Hamas accepted the formation of the committee, while Fatah refused. We prefer the presence of a government, but if it is difficult, we can agree to form the committee,” denying that the visit was linked to any internal affairs of the movement.

However, Palestinian political analyst Dr. Ayman Al-Raqab said in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the presence of the political bureau with this weight for the first time since the war in Cairo has a special significance, linked to the possibility of discussing the election of a head for the bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, which is expected to take place before the end of the year.”

Other than this internal file, Al-Raqab believes that “the Gaza administration file and the negotiations arrangements for the second phase took up an important space on the negotiating table.”

Discussing the arrangements for the second phase of negotiations is necessary to complete any agreements related to the Palestinian issue, according to the assessment of the Palestinian political analyst specializing in Hamas affairs, Ibrahim al-Madhoun, to Asharq Al-Awsat. In addition, “the large delegation from Hamas will discuss the arrangements for the conditions of the released prisoners (and their next destination).”

"The movement's meeting in Egypt, specifically in Cairo, carries great symbolism and reflects Hamas's awareness of the importance of the Egyptian role, not only in the past stage, but also in managing the current and upcoming stage, as it represents the cornerstone in fortifying the Palestinian position," according to Al-Madhoun.

Regarding the future of the discussions on the management of the Gaza Strip that were sponsored by Cairo between Hamas and Fatah over the months of October, November and December without reaching solutions, Al-Madhoun said that “Hamas trusts the Egyptian role and is working to arrange any future details with Egypt, and agreed to the Egyptian initiative, which included the formation of a community support committee in which the movement does not participate, but the Fatah movement rejected this offer.”

In Al-Madhoun’s opinion, “Hamas is interested in the participation of everyone in any future Palestinian arrangements in Gaza. The factions must participate, most notably Fatah, Hamas, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front, the Reformist Movement, and others. There must also be a unified Palestinian position.”

He added: "Hamas is also interested in arranging and coordinating with the Arab depth, headed by Cairo. Perhaps the talk now in Cairo is important in this direction... Hamas is open and hopes that there will be a serious dialogue with the Arab countries, and that it will be invited to the Arab League to discuss these issues openly with the Arab depth."

According to a statement by Hamas on Tuesday, the delegation discussed in Cairo “the mechanisms for implementing the agreement (truce), the violations that occurred, and the necessity for the occupation to abide by everything that was agreed upon without procrastination or disruption.”

The efforts made in the context of arranging the Palestinian house and the options presented were also reviewed, especially forming a national consensus government or moving towards forming a community support committee.

In parallel with Hamas' visit, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced a meeting on Wednesday between Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein al-Sheikh and the Palestinian President's Advisor for Diplomatic Affairs Majdi al-Khalidi in Cairo.

The meeting is scheduled to discuss developments in the Palestinian territories, coinciding with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.