Hamas: We accepted an Egyptian invitation for talks in Cairo

Monday January 05, 2009 17:22 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC News

A high-ranking Hamas official confirmed on Monday that his movement has accepted an Egyptian invitation for cease-fire talks in Cairo.

Smoke billows from a targeted location in the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli air raid, as seen from the Israeli-Gaza border (Photo: Farshad Ebrahimi Photo Stream)

Osama Hamdan, member of Hamas' politcal buro said in Damascus that Hamas will send a delegation to Cairo soon for talks in a bid to reach a cease-fire. Hamdan also said that Israel has failed to stop the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, adding that the resistance is firing home-made shells at Israel on a scheduled manner.

Earlier, the UN Security Council had failed to reach a Libyan-proposed cease-fire resolution in Gaza, as the US rejected the proposal. Arab leaders expressed dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, Europe has sent diplomats to boost the effort. So far, a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip seems to be far from being reached after ten days of the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip. The official international attitude seems to be very diluted, as the European Union said the Israeli attacks on Gaza are defensive rather than offensive.Yet, the Europeans continue to push for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. For this purpose, two senior European officials headed to the area in order to promote a cease-fire agreement.

Karl Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which took over the European Union presidency from France on Thursday, led a delegation to the region on Sunday.

Meanwhile, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France arrived in Egypt, kicking off his Middle East tour to push for a cease-fire. He is to meet with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and he will also hold talks with Syrian and Lebanese leaders.

Local observers have said that the delay in reaching a cease-fire and a United Nations Security Council resolution to end the Israeli attacks on Gaza is deliberate, in order to give more time for Israel to reach its goals declared for the military offensive on the coastal region.

gaza strip | diplomacy | news report george at imemc dot org