By Xinhua,
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt : Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Saturday termed the Egypt-brokered Gaza truce as a step towards a comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli peace, which needs to be followed by further steps.
Abul Gheit made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the second day of 13th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) Executive Council ahead of the AU Summitin the Egyptian Red Sea resort.
“We are exerting efforts to urge both sides to observe the Gaza ceasefire agreement,” the top Egyptian diplomat said, commenting on reports of breaches of the agreement.
On the issue of the Palestinian internal dialogue between Hamas and Fatah, Abul Gheit noted that Egypt is also making mediating efforts in this front.
However, he added that this is not the issue to be discussed at the time being.
The Egyptian-brokered truce started on June 19 in Gaza. The six-month ceasefire is expected to halt Israeli attacks into Gaza and ease the blockade which Israel imposed on Gaza Strip when Hamas took over the territory by force a year ago. During the Gaza fighting, Hamas routed security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and ousted his Fatah movement.
The situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian territories is also top on the agenda of the AU Executive Council meeting of foreign ministers or representatives of the 53 AU members.
Under the summit theme “Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation”, the 11th AU Summit is scheduled to be held on June 30 and July 1 in Sharm el-Sheikh.