Palestinians Propose Gaza Ceasefire, Talks: Official

The Palestinian Authority has proposed a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be followed by five days of talks between Palestinian factions and Israel, a senior Fatah official said Tuesday.



"The Palestinian leadership has presented a proposal – as part of Egypt's ceasefire initiative – for ceasing fire and holding five days of negotiations," Azzam al-Ahmad told Anadolu Agency.



Since July 7, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with fierce aerial bombardments with the ostensible aim of halting Palestinian rocket fire.



At least 612 Palestinians have been killed – mostly civilians – and more than 3745 others injured in Israel's ongoing offensive, now in its third week.



Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities in response to relentless Israeli bombardments, which continued on Tuesday.



According to official Israeli figures, 30 Israelis – 28 soldiers and two civilians – have been killed since hostilities began.



Last week, Cairo proposed a ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian resistance factions.



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



The initiative called on Israel to cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip, halt all ground operations and refrain from targeting civilians.



Al-Ahmad said Egypt was not opposed to the new ceasefire deal proposed by the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah.



Egyptian officials, for their part, could not be reached for comment.



The Fatah official also said that proposals for a new "humanitarian ceasefire" had been rejected.



"There is no ceasefire proposal at present except for the Egyptian initiative," he said.



Last week, Palestinian factions and Israel observed a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire – called for by the United Nations – to allow civilians to stock up on food.



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



In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians were killed in Israel's three-week-long "Operation Cast Lead."



By Mohamed Wali



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire