Cairo hosts diplomatic talks on Gaza

Uzbekistan News.Net
Thursday 8th January, 2009

The Egyptian capital, Cairo, is the scene of talks between top Israeli envoys and Egyptian mediators.

In a further bid to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, Palestinian representatives are meeting separately with the Egyptians.

While diplomatic negotiations have been going on for some days, the participants have remained tight-lipped about progress.

But officials from the militant Hamas group, which controls the Gaza Strip, have already cast doubt over the results of the negotiations by declaring from Damascus that an Egyptian peace proposal would not be an acceptable basis for solving the crisis.

While Egypt has been trying to reach a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Israeli and Hamas negotiators have refused to meet face-to-face.

It is believed Israel will call a ceasefire only if weapons smuggling through tunnels into Gaza from Egypt is stopped and the tunnels sealed.

Palestinian sources say President Mahmoud Abbas is due to arrive in Cairo before the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is also expected to visit Egypt on Saturday or Sunday.

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