White House official recasts Kerry’s proposal

The US seems to be desperately rolling back Kerry’s ceasefire proposal, which was unanimously rejected by the Israeli cabinet on Friday night, and infuriated the PA and Egypt as well.

First, the State Department Marie Harf insists “there was never a formal proposal put forward.”

And now Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security adviser, says Kerry was focused in his meetings on trying to get to “a common place” to stop the violence and “then have a further negotiation under the Egyptian lead in Cairo” to bring together “Israel, the Palestinians, and other players” in support of a comprehensive ceasefire that would address “Hamas’s military capabilities and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

Quite a change from the terms of Kerry’s original proposal, with its stress on Hamas’s demands for eased access to Gaza.

Rhodes also says Israel could do more to reduce Palestinian civilian casualties. “I think you can always do more,” Rhodes says on CNN’s “State of the Union,” according to the Washington Times.

“If there are rockets being fired indiscriminately at Israel, they have a right to defend themselves,” he says. “We have said Israel has to do a better job to avoid civilian loss of life.”