(AP) Mohammed Daraghmeh and Ian Deitch - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Hamas on Friday for extending fighting with Israel in Gaza. "It was possible for us to avoid all of that, 2,000 martyrs, 10,000 injured, 50,000 houses [destroyed]," Abbas told Palestine TV. He said Hamas prolonged the violence needlessly. "The Egyptian formula was on the table on July 15th, it was backed by the Arab League, it was accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas then and now more than a month later has belatedly been accepted by Hamas," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. "As the dust clears from the conflict I'm sure many people in Gaza will be asking why did Hamas reject a month ago what it accepted today, and if it had accepted then what it accepted now, how much bloodshed could have been avoided."
2014-09-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive