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‘Some progress made toward Gaza cease-fire’

International Desk |
Update: 2014-07-23 08:20:00
‘Some progress made toward Gaza cease-fire’ Photo Courtesy: dailytimes.com.pk

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday some progress had been made in efforts to bring an end to 16 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

‘We have certainly made some steps forward. There is still work to be done,’ Kerry said shortly after arriving in Jerusalem for a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

He declined to give any details, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Kerry arrived in Tel Aviv earlier on Wednesday ‘to meet with officials to discuss the ongoing cease-fire efforts’, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

‘He will also travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, and will be meeting with Palestinian Authority president (Mahmoud) Abbas and Israeli prime minister (Binyamin) Netanyahu,’ she added

On Tuesday, Kerry held talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo, while Ban met leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah. As of Tuesday night, there was no sign that a cease-fire was imminent.

Ban did not mention any cease-fire proposal at a press conference in Tel Aviv alongside Netanyahu, while Kerry said in Cairo that the Egyptian cease-fire proposal – which Hamas rejected last week – was the ‘framework’ to end the violence.

‘Hamas has a fundamental choice to make, and it is a choice that will have a profound impact for the people of Gaza,’ Kerry said after a meeting with Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry.

He added that ‘the Egyptians have provided a framework and a forum for them to be able to come to the table to have a serious discussion together with other factions of the Palestinians’.

BDST: 1738 HRS, JUL 23, 2014

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