By NNN-KUNA,
Washington : An Israeli “pause” in its bombings and invasion of Gaza was done for humanitarian assistance to be able to reach Gazans, White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
Israel has not endorsed a ceasefire plan negotiated by the Egyptians and the French, and while the Israelis “are open to the concept,” they want to learn more details on the plan, Perino said during a White House briefing Wednesday.
The Israeli pause in its military operations was something US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice worked with the Israelis on overnight, Perino said.
“And so I think that that will happen from time to time, that there will be a pause to allow some humanitarian aid, but I will let the Israelis describe that more,” Perino said.
The United States is deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Perino said. More than 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,900 injured in the 11-day Israeli offensive.
“We need urgently to conclude some sort of a ceasefire agreement that would be lasting, that would endure” and that would include an end to Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, an end to smuggling into Gaza and the reopening of the Gaza-Egyptian border in a way that is consistent with a 2005 access agreement, Perino said.
“The easiest thing to stop this situation would be for Hamas to stop sending rockets into Israel,” Perino said, noting that 35 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday.
Responding to a question, Perino said she does not believe the Israelis are targeting innocent civilians, “but we do know that innocent civilians have been caught up in this fighting, and that is why we are concerned about it.”
Hamas leaders need to renounce terror and violence, and at the very least “stop sending the rockets right now, so that a ceasefire could be put in place that could be lasting,” she said. “I think the worst thing that we could have is … to have this vicious cycle continue,” she added.
One Israeli concern is that Hamas has been known to “commandeer” humanitarian aid “and send it directly to their forces, and not to the people who actually need it,” Perino said.
Another US goal is “the stabilization and normalization of life in Gaza” and the return of the authority of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, “who is the president of all Palestinians, Perino said.
Hamas forces captured Gaza from the Fatah forces of Abbas in mid-2007 in what Hamas opponents described as a coup.