(New York Times) Michael R. Gordon and Mark Landler - The U.S. and UN announced a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire in the Gaza conflict on Friday. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were to head to Cairo for formal talks on how to end the conflict. Israeli troops would continue destroying the labyrinth of tunnels in Gaza that Prime Minister Netanyahu has said are the prime target of the operation. "It's the package deal that Kerry has been working on for two weeks," said Martin S. Indyk, who served until recently as special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "Both sides have accepted it and the follow-on negotiations, and both sides seem to prefer that to continuing the conflict." American officials said Egypt would be issuing the formal invitations for the talks. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the PA, will pick the Palestinian delegation, which will include members of Hamas.
2014-08-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive