Egypt is to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegations to return to Cairo to resume talks on a long-term truce for Gaza, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday, after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
A previous round of truce talks collapsed on Tuesday, shattering nine days of calm, as the deadly six-week conflict between Israel and its Islamist foe Hamas resumed.
At least 1,900 Palestinians and more than 60 Israeli soldiers died in the conflict.
Abbas said Egypt’s ceasefire initiative is the only initiative on the table, adding that “no one can get Egypt out of the equation”.
The Palestinian President said priority is currently for “stopping bloodshed committed by Israeli occupation forces”.
Abbas's meeting with Sisi came after he held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, whose Islamist movement is the de facto ruler of Gaza.
