Report: Kerry truce draft ignores Israeli demands
Ceasefire proposal presented to Israel by top US diplomat met all Hamas demands, scarcely mentioned Israel, according to Haaretz.
Ynetnews
Published: 07.27.14, 12:52 / Israel News
A ceasefire proposal presented to Israel by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday made scarce reference to Israel's security needs, Haaretz claimed on Sunday.
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Israel quickly rejected the proposal, with some commentators questioning Kerry's grasp of the situation in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed that the draft banned Israel from destroying the so-called terror tunnels that entered Israeli territory from Gaza during a proposed seven-day humanitarian ceasefire.
According to Haaretz, the draft contained 3 key items outlining the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the "Palestinian factions." These items include a seven-day humanitarian ceasefire beginning Sunday evening, use of the understandings reached after Pillar of Defense in 2012 as a starting point, and talks in Cairo "within 48 hours" to resolve outstanding issues pertinent to maintaining a long-term cease-fire.
Haaretz said that Hamas' demands were all met in the draft, including opening of border crossings, passage of goods, and payment of civil servant salaries. However, there is no mention, Haaretz said, of Israel's central demand for the Gaza Strip to be demilitarized and the terror tunnels destroyed.
Furthermore, Haaretz reported, the draft also completely ignores Egypt and instead gives supervision for the implementation of the agreement to Turkey and Qatar, both openly hostile to Israel and extremely sympathetic to Hamas.
Topic: Kerry[ Kohn] drafted cease fire on Fri completely on Hamas terms (Read 467 times)