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Despite IDF resistance, France urges European observers to monitor Gaza
By The Associated Press
Tags: IDF, Hamas, Gaza, Israel News

The French foreign minister said Monday that European military observers should be sent to Gaza to monitor any eventual cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Bernard Kouchner said on Europe-1 radio that France is pushing for international observers in the region, despite resistance from Egypt and Israel.


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"There need to be European observers," Kouchner said, adding that the group could be expanded to include monitors from other regions. He said they should include military observers, to testify to the maintained cease-fire.

France has played an active diplomatic role in the push for peace in Gaza, including as current president of the UN Security Council and during a trip by President Nicolas Sarkozy and Kouchner to several cities in the Middle East last week.

French Defense Minister Herve Morin suggested a European peace-keeping force for Gaza once the violence has settled.

"It seems to me it would not be stupid or incoherent for the Europeans to participate in a force that would be tasked with watching over the security of the borders," he said on French radio RFI on Sunday night.

He said France should consider participating in such a force if one is formed, but added that for now the conditions have not been met to establish such a force.

Kouchner also said France is talking with Iran in a bid to indirectly pressure
Hamas into halting its rocket attacks on Israel.

"We are talking to everyone," Kouchner said. He said he talked to Iranian officials Sunday about Gaza.

"We have intermediaries ... who allow us to talk to Hamas," he said, without elaborating.

German foreign minister hopeful of Gaza cease-fire
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Monday that after meeting with Arab and Israeli leaders he is hopeful of the possibility of a cease-fire in Gaza.

Steinmeier told reporters early Monday on his return flight from weekend meetings with leaders in the Middle East that he sees concrete chances for a cease-fire.

He stressed the need to stop the smuggling of weapons to Hamas, saying that it is the key question for moving from a humanitarian cease-fire to a permanent cease-fire.

Steinmeier said Germany can help Egyptian border control efforts with technical help, training and other cooperation.

Steinmeier met over the weekend with officials including Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas.

Also on Monday, special Mideast envoy Tony Blair said the elements are in place for a cease-fire to end the fighting in Gaza.

The former British prime minister was speaking from Cairo where he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, following meetings in Israel.

He told reporters Monday that the elements of an agreement for a cease-fire are there, adding that they are being worked on very hard.

Blair is the Middle East envoy for the Quartet, the U.S., EU, Russia and the UN, supervising the Middle East peace process.

He added any plan to end fighting must also halt weapons smuggling to Hamas and open Gaza's borders.

Amid the diplomatic efforts, Israel Defense Forces ground forces were continuing their offensive in the Gaza Strip that began Dec. 27 to halt years of rocket fire from Hamas militants. The 2-week-old conflict has killed more than 800 people.

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