Rice: U.S. backs Egypt proposal for Gaza cease-fire
By Haaretz Service
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday Washington backed a proposal by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“We need urgently to conclude a ceasefire that can endure and that can bring real security,” Rice told the UN Security Council. “In this regard we are pleased by and wish to commend the statement of the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative.”
Israel has not yet agreed.
Under the proposal, Israel and Hamas would accept an immediate cease-fire for a limited period, which would allow safe passages to open for humanitarian aid to Gaza and give Egypt time to continue its efforts for a comprehensive and lasting cease-fire, Reuters reported.
Egypt would then invite both Israel and the Palestinian side to an urgent meeting to reach arrangements and guarantees to ensure that the current escalation does not recur. These talks will deal with all the issues at hand, including protecting the border, reopening crossing points and lifting the blockade, it said.
Finally, Egypt would invite the Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian factions to respond to Egyptian efforts to achieve national reconciliation.
Israeli diplomatic officials said a Security Council resolution calling for an end to the fighting, similar to the resolution that put an end to the Second Lebanon War, could only be accepted by Israel if a mechanism to stop arms smuggling was in place.
Olmert, on a tour of the South Tuesday, laid out the principles for an end to Operation Cast Lead.
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“It will stop when the conditions that are essential for Israel’s security are met,” Olmert said. “First and foremost, all terrorist operations against us must stop. The strengthening of the terrorist organizations via the smuggling of war materiel from Egypt into Gaza must also stop.”
Hamas is not going to agree to stop attacking Israel. Its raison d’etre. The war will go on.
Comment by NormanF — January 6, 2009 @ 9:05 pm
What short memory the world has! They don’t remember the lies Rice and Bush told at the end of Lebanon II.
How they made a half-destroyed Hezbollah into a super-threat. Wait til you see what they do in their next attack!
Now they wish to do the same for Hamas.
…
Rice is a dumb as a post and so is anyone that believes any of the lies she spouts.
Comment by Max — January 7, 2009 @ 12:41 am
Condi Rice is clueless. Fortunately, she’ll out of office in less than two weeks. Its obvious she has no real understanding of what is going on in the Middle East. Of course, the world wants to save Hamas. We all know why, which is the same reason it intervened to save Hezbollah.
Comment by NormanF — January 7, 2009 @ 7:39 am