CAIRO, December 16 (IslamOnline) - While an official of a Palestinian resistance group said Monday, December 16, they would need two weeks to give an answer to an Egyptian proposal to temporarily halt anti-Israeli operations, an Egyptian political analyst defended the Egyptian moves as “indispensable” for the Palestinian cause.

Speaking to IslamOnline by phone, deputy chief of Islamic Jihad Zyad Abu Nakhalah (Abu Tareq) said that his group asked “our brothers in Egypt to give us a couple of weeks to present their proposals to the Jihad institutions inside the Palestinian occupied territories and outside them.”

According to Abu Tareq, an Islamic Jihad delegation came to Cairo Tuesday, December 10, for talks at the invitation of senior Egyptian officials.

“The two sides exchanged viewpoints on the best way to direct the struggle against the enemy (Israel), and the Egyptian officials proposed a period of calm in military operations.

“Jihad stressed that the Palestinian people are only defending themselves and that Israel is the aggressor that occupies Palestinian towns and, as a result, there is no choice but the resistance,” he added.

Meanwhile, deputy head of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, Dr. Waheed Abdul Majeed, told IslamOnline that the Egyptian proposals are for the best interest of the Palestinians.

“The Palestinian Intifada has come to a crossroads; they can either go on with more losses and no hope for a foreseen victory, or they can reconsider military operations to protect its future and that of the Palestinian cause.

“Egypt is acting to secure the latter road, starting from hosting the Hamas-Fatah dialogue, and the lightening visit by Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Sulaiman where he met Sharon and Arafat, and now this initiative for calm,” Abdul Majid said.

As regards the timing of the Egyptian move, the political analyst referred to the coming Israeli elections and “the importance to send a clear message (by the Palestinians) to the Israeli voters, through halting anti-Israel resistance operations, giving Israelis the chance to opt for peace.”

Responding to a question on why Egypt was not moving in the other direction; meaning why not approach the Israelis for calm, Abdul Majeed said that it is not in the interest of Israeli leaders to resort to calm, as the case now is that “they try to look, before their voters and the international public opinion, as the victims of what they term as (Palestinian terror).

“So, the only way is to make them look as what they really are; occupiers and aggressors,” he added.