A senior Egyptian mediator will on Monday present to the Israeli government a new ceasefire proposal agreed with the Hamas Islamist movement that could halt the conflict in Gaza and begin to resolve the mounting economic crisis that has engulfed the strip.
A Palestinian journalist who died in Gaza on Wednesday was killed by metal darts from a shell fired by an Israeli tank, doctors said on Thursday. Thousands gathered for the funeral of Fadel Shana (23), a Reuters cameraman. His body was carried through the streets of Gaza City, draped in a Palestinian flag.
The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, on Tuesday called on Israel to stop its ”aggression” to create the right climate for negotiations as the United States sought to salvage a stalled peace effort. Abbas said ”peace and negotiations are our strategic choice” but fell short of announcing a resumption of peace talks.
No image available
/ 4 February 2008
Egyptian security forces closed the border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday nearly two weeks after the wall was first breached. Gunmen from the Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, appeared to be cooperating with the Egyptians, turning back crowds of Palestinians as barbed wire and metal barricades were installed.