(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) A hastily-arranged meeting of several Foreign Ministers from the US, Europe, and the Mideast region ended here Saturday with a solemn call to Israel and Hamas to extend the 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire agreed to for this day.
The meeting, chaired by US Secretary-of-State John Kerry, and hosted by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, also included EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton and Foreign Ministers from Turkey, Qatar, Britain, Germany and Italy.
Fabius said in a statement after the three hours of talks that the meeting was "positive," and it had "allowed pariticipants to come out with common orientations for international action for a cease-fire in Gaza." The strategy to get an end to hostilities will be notably "an extension of efforts, notably Egyptian," although these have not yet been accepted by all parties.
"All (FMs) are calling on the parties for an extension of the humanitarian cease-fire currently in place," Fabius said.
But he said participants wanted to go beyond the mere question of a halt to hostilities and address the vital issues affecting both parties.
"We want to obtain as quickly as possible a lasting, negotiated cease-fire that responds to Israeli needs in terms of security and to Palestinian needs in terms of access (to Gaza) and socio-economic reconstruction," the French Foreign Minister said.
The meeting also addressed the need for the Palestinian Authority to be associated with these objectives.
All the Foreign Ministers expressed "solidarity with the civilian populations hard hit by the fighting." Around 900 Palestinians, mostly civilians have died in 19 days of strikes by Israel, while two Israeli civilians have died from Hamas rocket fire.
All six ministers said the would coordinate their action in the coming days and weeks on the basis of what they agreed above here on Saturday.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.