International community steps up pressure to reach cease-fire

[Jefferson23]

UN Security Council members urge end to violence; foreign ministers from U.S.,U.K., France and Germany
to meet in Vienna Sunday.

By Barak Ravid | Jul. 12, 2014

By Haaretz | Jul. 12, 2014 | 10:19 PM | 13

International pressure to reach a cease-fire in Gaza is increasing: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet on Sunday with the foreign ministers of the U.K., France and Germany, on the sidelines of the nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna, and discuss the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Senior officials in Jerusalem said on Saturday that though the diplomatic efforts are speeding up, at this point no concrete cease-fire offer has been presented to Israel.

Senior Israeli officials and Western diplomats said that the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, the UN and others are holding talks concerning a cease-fire, but efforts are still in the early stages. "Nothing has developed into a serious framework," the senior officials said. "If there's a relevant offer we will examine it. We want to [restore] quiet in the south for a long period of time, and any cease-fire agreement must guarantee that."

Special envoy of the Middle East Quartet, Tony Blair, met over the weekend with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the possibility of a truce. Following the meeting, Blair met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi in Cairo. The Egyptian president said after the meeting that Egypt is in contact with the Israelis and the Palestinians in an attempt to put an end to the violent conflict in the Gaza Strip. Sissi also warned of further escalation that could result in the death of many civilians in Gaza.

On Sunday, foreign ministers from the six world powers – the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K., France and Germany – will meet in Vienna during talks over Iran's nuclear program. British Foreign Minister William Hague said in a statement that he will take part in a meeting on the sidelines of the talks, alongside his colleagues from Germany and France and Kerry, to discuss ways in which to bring about a cease-fire.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.604655