REUTERS
CAIRO: Egypt’s prime minister said today that an agreement brokered by Cairo to stop the fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza could be close. “Negotiations are going on as we speak and I hope we will reach something soon that will stop this violence and counter violence,” Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said in an interview in Cairo for the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.
Israel launched an air campaign on Wednesday with the declared goal of deterring Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, from launching rockets at its southern communities. Egypt is seeking to reinstate a ceasefire after an informal one it brokered in October collapsed. “I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation (means) it is very difficult to predict,” he said. Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi had said on Saturday that there were ‘some indications’ a ceasefire could be reached soon but said there were no firm guarantees.
“President Mursi is determined to play his role as a key player in the region and help mediate this,” said Kandil.
Israel launched an air campaign on Wednesday with the declared goal of deterring Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, from launching rockets at its southern communities. Egypt is seeking to reinstate a ceasefire after an informal one it brokered in October collapsed. “I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation (means) it is very difficult to predict,” he said. Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi had said on Saturday that there were ‘some indications’ a ceasefire could be reached soon but said there were no firm guarantees.
“President Mursi is determined to play his role as a key player in the region and help mediate this,” said Kandil.
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