Kerry arrives in Ramallah for Gaza truce talks

RAMALLAH 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Ramallah from Tel Aviv on Wednesday for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas aimed at forging a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.

Kerry will return to Israel following his talks with Palestinian officials, Abbas' office said.

Washington's top diplomat arrived in Israel on Wednesday from Egypt, where he had discussed the situation in Gaza with Egyptian officials and ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.

On Tuesday, Kerry said that an earlier Egyptian ceasefire proposal would be the "framework" for a ceasefire between Palestinian resistance factions and Israel.

"There is a framework... to end the violence, and that framework is the Egyptian initiative," Kerry said at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Cairo presented its ceasefire proposal last week amid a fierce Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip, which continued unabated on Wednesday.

Israel's offensive has left at least 650 Palestinians dead – mostly civilians – since it began on July 7 with the stated aim of staunching Palestinian rocket fire.

At least 31 Israelis, including 29 soldiers, have also been killed since hostilities began.

Cairo's ceasefire proposal, initially accepted by Israel, was turned down by Gaza-based resistance factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who said they were never consulted about the terms of the plan.

Israel's ongoing "Operation Protective Edge" is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.

In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians – the vast majority of whom were civilians – were killed in Israel's three-week-long "Operation Cast Lead."

By Qais Abu Samra

www.aa.com.tr/en