Abbas still hopes for truce, has ‘lot of demands’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he hopes a ceasefire can be agreed on in Gaza.

“So far, there is hope for a ceasefire,” Abbas says after meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman.

“We have to wait… and insist that ending the fighting is the only solution to ease the Palestinian suffering and end the bloodshed. Everybody should work on that,” a palace statement quotes Abbas as saying.

Abbas says an Egyptian truce proposal that has been accepted by Israel and rejected by Hamas “should be approved.”

“It has already been approved. A ceasefire will be reached in line with the Egyptian initiative before launching negotiations about certain demands,” he adds.

“We have a lot of demands, after that we will discuss what would happen in the future.”

— AFP