[AP] Matthew Lee - Secretary of State Rice on Tuesday kept up steady U.S. calls for a "durable and sustainable," but not necessarily immediate, cease-fire in Gaza and rocket attacks by Palestinian militants based there. In phone calls with Israeli and Arab leaders, Rice pressed for a durable solution to the fighting that is not used by Hamas to launch more attacks into Israel. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said, "It can't be a cease-fire in which one side uses it to launch periodic attacks." Meanwhile, the State Department announced a new contribution of $85 million to UN relief efforts to assist Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
2008-12-31 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive