Kerry hopes for more Gaza pauses
7/27/2014 8:02:03 PM
US Secretary of State John Kerry is working for Israel and Hamas to agree to further halts in the Gaza bloodshed ahead of Egyptian-led peace talks, an official said Sunday.
Kerry returned to Washington early Sunday after a weeklong mission to the Middle East that failed to reach a permanent ceasefire to stop the 20-day conflict which has killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Palestinian civilians.
Just as Kerry returned, Israel announced a resumption of operations after a one-day pause which Hamas -- which has been firing rockets into the Jewish state -- belatedly accepted.
A senior US official said that Kerry was seeking a series of temporary ceasefires, which would lead the way for Israeli-Palestinian talks in Egypt on a more permanent plan.
"You have a way now to staunch the bleeding," the official who accompanied Kerry said on condition of anonymity.
Israel's security cabinet on Friday rejected a ceasefire proposal and insisted on the need to keep destroying tunnels through which Hamas can infiltrate from the Gaza Strip to carry out attacks.
Kerry, who spent much of the past week in Egypt, on Saturday held talks in Paris with the foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey -- key supporters of Hamas, which the United States classifies as a terrorist group.
The US official defended the meetings, which have come under fire in Israel, saying it was significant that Turkey and Qatar had joined other international players in calling for a ceasefire.
Kerry returned to Washington early Sunday after a weeklong mission to the Middle East that failed to reach a permanent ceasefire to stop the 20-day conflict which has killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Palestinian civilians.
Just as Kerry returned, Israel announced a resumption of operations after a one-day pause which Hamas -- which has been firing rockets into the Jewish state -- belatedly accepted.
A senior US official said that Kerry was seeking a series of temporary ceasefires, which would lead the way for Israeli-Palestinian talks in Egypt on a more permanent plan.
"You have a way now to staunch the bleeding," the official who accompanied Kerry said on condition of anonymity.
Israel's security cabinet on Friday rejected a ceasefire proposal and insisted on the need to keep destroying tunnels through which Hamas can infiltrate from the Gaza Strip to carry out attacks.
Kerry, who spent much of the past week in Egypt, on Saturday held talks in Paris with the foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey -- key supporters of Hamas, which the United States classifies as a terrorist group.
The US official defended the meetings, which have come under fire in Israel, saying it was significant that Turkey and Qatar had joined other international players in calling for a ceasefire.