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Omar Suleiman with former defense minister Amir Peretz in Tel Aviv in 2006. (Alon Ron)
Last update - 02:24 01/03/2008
Abbas calls for halt to IDF strikes on Gaza, Qassam rockets
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to Israel to cease its military operations in the Gaza Strip, warning Friday that the current crisis could deteriorate even further should the Israel Defense Forces embark on a wide-scale incursion into the territory.

Abbas also called on all Palestinian factions to halt Qassam rocket fire and for Israel to reopen the Gaza border crossings.

The Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Friday called on Jerusalem to avoid harming innocent Palestinians when combating rocket fire, while also issuing a harsh condemnation of Gaza militants' Qassam attacks on Israel.
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"The loss of civilian life including children is absolutely tragic. The rocket attacks which resulted in the death of an innocent Israeli and injuries to many more must cease, and are utterly to be condemned," Blair said in a statement he released.

The former British prime minister added: "But it is vital that in action against [the rocket attacks], everything possible is done to avoid the loss of innocent Palestinian life, so that there are not even more victims of the situation created in Gaza."

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey denounced Hamas' rocket attacks as completely unacceptable and demanded they stop. He also said the U.S. regularly urges Israel to consider the consequences of its actions and to pay careful attention to the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.

Earlier on Friday, Egypt urged "an immediate end" to Israel Defense Forces operations in Gaza, and called on both Israel and the Palestinians to adhere to a one-day cease-fire so as to prevent the fighting from spiraling out of control.

"Israel's military escalation in Gaza is dangerous and threatens to bring an end to efforts" to reach a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said in a statement, demanding "an immediate end" to military operations.

Abul Gheit called on both sides to "exercise restraint and refrain from acts that lead to the military confrontation continuing."

Abul Gheit said the IDF's "military operations against the Palestinians in Gaza are an excessive use of force."

"Both parties should stand down for 24 hours to bring an end to military escalation so peace efforts can take their course," he added.

Meanwhile, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman informed the Defense Ministry that he was canceling his visit to Israel, scheduled to take place next week. Ministry officials attributed the cancellation to the escalated fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Some 30 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday and Thursday, as part of Israel's response to continued rocket attacks on the south of the country.

Egyptian officials were trying to reschedule the meeting, Israel Radio reported Friday.

Suleiman had been scheduled to arrive in Israel next Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in an effort to advance a new Egyptian initiative to reduce the tension on the border between Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Suleiman and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her Middle East tour next week, to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Egyptian foreign minister said Friday.

Rice is scheduled to visit Egypt on Tuesday, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said in a statement.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey has told reporters that Rice will be in the Middle East and then at NATO talks from March 3-7. Her visit comes amid Israeli warnings of an impending conflagration in the Gaza Strip as Hamas militants scale-up rocket attacks on Israel.

Israeli officials skeptical about Egypt plan
Israeli security officials have expressed doubts about the five-party plan - involving Egypt, Israel, the Hamas government, the United States and the European Union - which calls for a reopening of the Rafah crossing with American support and guarantees, and the assistance of European monitors. The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service are dubious about the monitors' role in light of criticism about their limited role in the past.

Cairo wants at least a partial reopening of the border crossing, alongside an Egyptian promise to improve efforts to prevent militants from smuggling weapons and terror operatives from the Sinai to Gaza. The Egyptians are trying to reach separate agreements with Israel and Hamas, because both parties refuse to discuss the matter directly.

The Egyptian initiative is an attempt to revive the 2005 Rafah agreement, which included the participation of European monitors. The monitors left the area last year after Hamas took over Gaza. Cairo has expressed concern over the lack of stability on the Gaza border, particularly since Hamas broke down the border wall in Rafah at the end of January.

The Egyptian intelligence chief was also expected to discuss with Israeli officials the effort to advance a deal for the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit.

Some progress has been made on the issue recently, with Israel expressing its willingness to release more than 200 of the prisoners that Hamas wants to include in a prisoner swap.

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    Power to the people
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      1.   FOOLS!EGYPT INTERESTED ONLY IN THEIR OWN EXPANSION,LIBERATE GAZA! 05:05  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 27/02/08
      2.   I DID SO MUCH 4 GAZA:GAVE THEM GUSH QATIF & THEY STILL TERRORIZE? 05:09  |  A. SHARON (I`M FINE) 27/02/08
      3.   Beware Everyone... 08:28  |  An Arab 27/02/08
      4.   Egypt cannot be trusted. 08:43  |  Jean Van Daem 27/02/08
      5.   #4 Jean Van Daem - Israel must cooperate 10:47  |  Yonatan 27/02/08
      6.   # 4. Jean. You just do not get it..do you ? 12:47  |  Stephen. 27/02/08
      7.   He only had Humus & Fool to offer 13:33  |  Raoul 29/02/08
      8.   We don`t trust anyone, including Blair,Rice & Bush. 14:11  |  Wise Saba 29/02/08
      9.   That makes sense!!! 14:28  |  MiddleStanian 29/02/08
      10.   Gee, I wonder how "restrained" the Egyptian Response Would Be ? 15:20  |  B`Galil 29/02/08
      11.   Int Chief..cancels Vists..War Coming... 16:55  |  Ali 29/02/08
      12.   hello Yonatan..of Kfar saba... 17:11  |  Ali 29/02/08
      13.   so,in short hamases take over of gaza caused the european monitor 17:24  |  terrornator 29/02/08
      14.   longer this drags out, more damage to all. kill all hamas now. 17:51  |  anup 29/02/08
      15.   #8 We don`t trust anyone..... 18:09  |  Chas. 29/02/08
      16.   egypt ... stooge country 19:10  |  ravi 29/02/08
      17.   Why Egypt didn`t demanded STOPPING QASSAMS from HAMAS BEFORE? 20:16  |  Vittorio 29/02/08
      18.   Either Israel occupies or withdraws, the Quassams are fired..... 20:33  |  Udi 29/02/08
      19.   always `an end to IDF actions`, never `an end to Hamas actions` 20:41  |  Jon 29/02/08
      20.   gaza a pawn for egypt! part 1 20:52  |  Avram 29/02/08
      21.   gaza a pawn for egypt! part 2 20:52  |  Avram 29/02/08
      22.   Wishful thinking of Yonatan,if Egypt were really against Hamas 21:06  |  Absolute Sweden 29/02/08
      23.   Um, er, no thanks. 21:27  |  Mark 29/02/08
      24.   Egypt FM demands 21:38  |  ChanahS 29/02/08
      25.   As long as Blair is running his mouth. . . . 21:46  |  MichaelF 29/02/08
      26.   BLAIR is bad student 21:56  |  tobia 29/02/08
      27.   Can anyone name a war in which civilians were not killed? 21:57  |  Jon 29/02/08
      28.   Blair says avoid harming innocents, whilst 21:59  |  Edifice 29/02/08
      29.   Blair: Israel must avoid harming innocents while combating rocke 22:01  |  martin list, m.d. 29/02/08
      30.   IT`S TOO LATE TO LAUNCH IDF 22:03  |  jewish doctor 29/02/08
      31.   And how many innocent Germans were killed by Brits during the WW2 22:08  |  Absolute Sweden 29/02/08
      32.   Hey Tony ... Osama Bin Laden says hi and thanks for everything. 22:08  |  Ali 29/02/08
      33.   Same old song: blame Israel! 22:19  |  Mike 29/02/08
      34.   blair head 22:22  |  who-d 29/02/08
      35.   Blair: Charming idiot or hypocrite? 22:24  |  Yonatan 29/02/08
      36.   what do these morons propose to *do* about rockets? 22:25  |  frenz 29/02/08
      37.   Put the Onus on Hamas 22:30  |  George Kaplan 29/02/08
      38.   Blair must tell the militants not to harm civilians ! 22:31  |  Elie 29/02/08
      39.   Quite a change for a European 22:34  |  natan 29/02/08
      40.   Tony Blair is a "Mensch"........ 22:35  |  Swiss (Dino) 29/02/08
      41.   # 15 Ravi of Punjab. A History lesson will suffice. 22:35  |  Stephen. 29/02/08
      42.   Reaching "final-status agreements with the Palestinians." 22:38  |  Maureen 29/02/08
      43.   THE BLAME ISRAEL GAME HAS STARTED 22:38  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 29/02/08
      44.   Bottom line - pulverize Gaza and everything in it. 22:40  |  Pssd off American. 29/02/08
      45.   It`s hard when terrorists use civilians as shield 22:41  |  Michael 29/02/08
      46.   # 15 Ravi of Punjab. A History lesson will suffice. 22:44  |  Stephen. 29/02/08
      47.   Blair says... 22:52  |  Miransky 29/02/08
      48.   Blair and the harming of those precious "innocents" 22:55  |  Brant 29/02/08
      49.   a thought 23:01  |  vik 29/02/08
      50.   ARM THEM 23:09  |  judith 29/02/08
      51.   Blair should be spending the rest of............ 23:12  |  Deborah 29/02/08
      52.   The priority for Israel must be Israeli civilians 23:18  |  B (The other one) 29/02/08
      53.   23Cipora Jk,from day one israel did not want Hamas in power even 23:30  |  lakshmi 29/02/08
      54.   HELP! PLEASE SAVE MY ABB-ASS 23:59  |  jewish doctor 29/02/08
      55.   Israel needs to act like the Arabs 00:30  |  peter 01/03/08
      56.   dear blair. i do not think u`d h. put equal 00:54  |  vukovac RENO 01/03/08
      57.   Israel shld w/draw fr Ashkelon 01:01  |  Jon 01/03/08
      58.   The Gaza withdrawal increase ArabPal reliance on terrorism. 01:03  |  Joseph . E 01/03/08
      59.   Egyptian conduct "cold war" 01:16  |  Joseph . E 01/03/08
      60.   #38, lakshmi 01:49  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 01/03/08
      61.   To Jon # 42 01:52  |  Elie 01/03/08
      62.   Abbas calls for halt 02:12  |  sabra 01/03/08
      63.   NO to intrusions of Abbas and external elements 02:32  |  Brod 01/03/08
      64.   #49 Curious Lakshmi "what has Hamas done for the Pals" 02:43  |  Shepherd 01/03/08
      65.   Abbas refused to dismantle Hamas, good price now ! 03:12  |  Mark 01/03/08
      66.   Egypt`s actions gave rise to crisis 04:02  |  Nathaniel 01/03/08
      67.   Abbas is a nothing 05:21  |  real vision 01/03/08
      68.   tony blair the putz 05:25  |  real vision 01/03/08
      69.   to#10 Dont push your Luck 06:44  |  pal 01/03/08
      70.   #57 Jon - You are in dreamland 13:55  |  * BEN JABO 02/03/08
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