Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was scheduled to visit Egypt on Jan. 9 for talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in a bid to put an end to the ongoing Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo Nabil Amr said Abbas will post Mubarak the result of his recent contacts with the UN and the U.S. administration on the Gaza situation, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported.
The Palestinians welcome an initiative proposed by Mubarak on Tuesday to stop the Israeli offensive on Gaza, said Amr.
During talks with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday, Mubarak presented a three-point proposal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The Egyptian proposal calls on Israel and the Palestinian groups to accept an immediate ceasefire for a limited period to allow for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and give Egypt time to continue its efforts to help reach a lasting truce, said Mubarak.
Egypt would invite both Israel and the Palestinians for talks that focus on the issues of border security, reopening the crossing points and lifting the blockade to avoid repetition of the current escalation, added Mubarak.
Egypt would also invite Palestinian factions for the resumption of their reconciliation talks, said the Egyptian president.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said that it is a positive step to conduct talks with Egypt over the ceasefire proposal.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed and over 2,700 others wounded in Gaza since the so-called Operation Cast Lead began on Dec. 27. On the Israeli side, 10 have been killed so far, including four soldiers fallen in two friendly fire incidents.
Source:Xinhua
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