(Ha'aretz) Barak Ravid and Jack Khoury - On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, then in Vienna for talks with Iran about its nuclear program, launched a marathon of phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, PA President Abbas, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and others. Senior Israeli officials said that in every phone call Kerry offered to fly immediately to Cairo and Jerusalem to try to advance a cease-fire. But Egyptians and Israelis both politely rejected that offer, telling Kerry they are already in direct contact and didn't need American mediation. Ironically, however, Kerry's pressure to fly in pushed Egypt and Israel to accelerate their own efforts to craft a cease-fire proposal. The final proposal was drafted by Egyptian intelligence in cooperation with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. A senior Israeli official said the Egyptian proposal essentially adopted ideas raised by Abbas, who had suggested that the Egyptians first declare an end to hostilities by both sides and then begin detailed negotiations over various issues related to Gaza.
2014-07-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive