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Last update - 22:23 30/12/2008
Quartet calls for immediate truce between Israel and Gaza
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
Tags: hamas, israel news, israel 

Foreign ministers from the Quartet of Middle East peace brokers - the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union - called on Tuesday for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and southern Israel after a telephone consultation.



U.S. President George W. Bush called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday to discuss how to end the violence in the Gaza Strip, ongoing now for four days.

He also called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to thank him for "the positive role" that Egypt was playing.

Israel's envoy to the U.S., Sallay Meridor, on Tuesday blamed Iran for the situation in Gaza.

"What you see in Gaza is made by Iran - it's funded by Iran, the terrorists are trained by Iran, it's supplied by Iran, the know-how to create short range rockets is Iranian, he said. "As an octopus, Iran has proxies in region and beyond the region, and at the same time they?re moving towards nuclear weapons."

"This is not a separate Israeli problem or a threat to Israel, this is very well-connected to the threat in Mumbai, Be'er Sheva, or God forbid, NYC, and we can defeat it only if we stand together determined not to let those terrorists to kill citizens and destroy our way of life. You must act against a terror if you want to give peace a chance," he said, adding: "We are making efforts to make sure that whatever humanitarian aid wants to get to Gaza will get into Gaza."

Separately, the United States announced Tuesday that it plans to contribute $85 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for its 2009 appeals.

Of the $85 million announced today, $25 million will go to UNRWA's Emergency Appeal for the West Bank and Gaza; $60 million to UNRWA\s General Fund.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic, which takes over the European Union's presidency on January 1, on Tuesday defended Israel's strikes against Hamas.

The EU has called for a cease-fire to end the violence that has killed almost 350 Palestinians. But Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Israel had the right to defend itself.

"Let us realize one thing: Hamas increased steeply the number of rockets fired at Israel since the ceasefire ended on December 19. That is not acceptable any more," Schwarzenberg told daily Mlada Fronta Dnes in an interview.

France, which will hand over the EU's rotating presidency to Prague, has condemned Israel's strikes and the rocket attacks from Hamas militants and called for both to stop immediately.

Schwarzenberg, a staunch ally of Washington, said Hamas had excluded itself from serious political debate due to its rocket attacks on Israel. He also indirectly blamed the group for the growing death toll, saying it put its bases and gun warehouses in densely populated areas.

"Why am I one of the few that have expressed understanding for Israel? ... I am enjoying the luxury of telling the truth," Schwarzenberg told the daily.

He said under the Czech EU presidency he would try to push through a policy that would lead to peace, saying "I would be very happy if it helped the Palestinians".

He said he would not support either side in the conflict but rather work as a mediator. The paper cited his office as saying he would take part in an extraordinary of EU foreign ministers in Paris on Tuesday evening to discuss the attacks.

Meanwhile, France and Great Britain are set to present a proposal on Tuesday aimed at forcing a cease-fire on Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner are planning a visit to Israel next Monday to discuss the situation.

Kouchner spoke with Defense Minister Minister Ehud Barak on the phone Monday, and proposed that Israel enter a 48-hour truce to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

A senior government source in Jerusalem said the initiative would be presented at a emergency session of the European Union's foreign ministers in Paris.

Foreign Ministry sources in Jerusalem said on Monday that the "international hourglass" would allow Israel to continue its operation in the Gaza Strip, at most, until January 5.

A source said Britain is pushing to pressure Israel, among other things, by releasing a statement by the 27 foreign ministers of the European Union that will call on Israel to stop the operation.

"The British are promoting a very bad proposal for Israel," a Foreign Ministry source said.

Sarkozy spoke Monday and Sunday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to move ahead on a cease-fire.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a similar round of calls. Brown and Sarkozy asked for Egypt's help in restoring the cease-fire.

According to the information Jerusalem has, the British and the French seem interested in Egypt or the Arab League leading talks with Hamas. The British and French foreign ministers also brought up the matter on Monday with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who reportedly expressed her support.

The British-French initiative apparently consists of a number of clauses, starting with a humanitarian cease-fire of 48 hours Later, attempts will be made to restart the cease-fire on a long-term basis. The agreement also includes sending immediate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and a review of the possibility of reopening the Rafah crossing by means of updating the 2005 agreement, once again under EU supervision.

"All hostile acts in Gaza must stop at once," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement.

According to Kouchner, Hamas is the party that broke the cease-fire first when it began to fire rockets at Israel but that "renewed calm will ensure basic conditions for life among the residents of Gaza."

His British counterpart, David Miliband, called Monday for "an urgent cease-fire and immediate halt to all violence."

In contrast to Kouchner and Miliband, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Monday said Hamas were responsible for the escalation in Gaza. Frattini further maintained that Israel acted in self defense, and had a right to do so.

Foreign Ministry Director General Aaron Abramovich held a series of meetings on Monday to assess how much longer the Israel Defense Forces could operate in Gaza before heavy international pressure began. The Foreign Ministry believes that Israel has until January 5, which marks the end of the holiday vacation in Europe and the United States.

The Foreign Ministry says that serious civilian casualties would lessen international legitimization for Israel's operation.

However, senior officials close to Olmert said the government's directives to the IDF had not changed.

"Everything is going exactly according to plan," sources in Olmert's bureau said, adding that they knew it would not be a quick and easy operation. "For now, we have the understanding of the international community."

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      1.   put its bases and gun warehouses in densely populated areas. 22:55  |  Gina 30/12/08
      2.   Quartet "Land for War" fiasco led to this mess. 23:27  |  Yacov 30/12/08
      3.   #1 dense 23:30  |  chris 30/12/08
      4.   God bless the Czechs and their support of Israel 23:35  |  Morris Valentine 30/12/08
      5.   same old same old same old responses 23:40  |  victor hardman 30/12/08
      6.   Same as Lebanon 23:41  |  SDHD 30/12/08
      7.   The Chech Pres already at loggerheads with EU 00:36  |  Labhras 31/12/08
      8.   The Chech Pres already at loggerheads with EU 2nd try 00:36  |  Labhras 31/12/08
      9.   Simple or Criminal Incompetence 01:03  |  Mark of Lewiston 31/12/08
      10.   Olmert`s Surrenders 01:04  |  Rick Abrams 31/12/08
      11.   MV-The Czechs-a lot to remember 02:15  |  Arie 31/12/08
      12.   finish the job, Israel 05:01  |  Jasper 31/12/08
      13.   ditto, finish the job 05:46  |  wetstt 31/12/08
      14.   Gaza 06:34  |  robert 01/01/09
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