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| Abbas to attend Gaza truce talks | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is due to meet Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, as part of efforts to bring about a long term ceasefire in Gaza. | Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is due to meet Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, as part of efforts to bring about a long term ceasefire in Gaza. |
| Egypt has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, during the conflict in the coastal enclave. | Egypt has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, during the conflict in the coastal enclave. |
| Mr Abbas has accused Hamas of risking Palestinian lives and said its leaders must respect his authority. | |
| The latest talks follow an upsurge in violence, with Israel carrying out air strikes in response to rocket attacks. | The latest talks follow an upsurge in violence, with Israel carrying out air strikes in response to rocket attacks. |
| Cairo has been holding separate talks with Israeli officials and Palestinians from both Hamas and Mr Abbas's Fatah party, which runs the self-rule Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. | |
| Mr Mubarak wants to negotiate a permanent ceasefire which could lead to Gaza's borders being reopened after an 18-month Israeli blockade which has prevented all but the most basic humanitarian supplies from entering. | |
| It would also bring an end to the smuggling of weapons through tunnels in the sandy soil underneath Egypt's borders into Gaza. | |
| Impotence | |
| Representatives from Hamas are in Cairo, but Mr Abbas has said talks were impossible with anyone who rejected the supremacy of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which he leads. | |
| GAZA CRISIS Gaza: Humanitarian situation Counting casualties of Gaza's warGaza slowly begins rebuilding This follows a statement last week by the exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said the PLO "expresses a state of impotence, abuse and a tool to deepen divisions". Hamas has never been a member of the PLO. | |
| There has been a rift between Fatah and Hamas since Hamas took control of Gaza by force in mid-2007. | There has been a rift between Fatah and Hamas since Hamas took control of Gaza by force in mid-2007. |
| Mr Abbas has accused Hamas of having "taken risks with the blood of Palestinians, with their fate, and dreams and aspirations for an independent Palestinian state". | Mr Abbas has accused Hamas of having "taken risks with the blood of Palestinians, with their fate, and dreams and aspirations for an independent Palestinian state". |
| Separately, on Monday the UN relief agency Unrwa said Israel had stopped a convoy of 10 trucks carrying paper and educational materials for its schools in Gaza from entering the Strip. | |
| Israel said Unrwa had not coordinated its attempt to bring in the supplies properly with the Israeli authorities. | |
| Fresh attacks | Fresh attacks |
| The talks come after Israeli aircraft bombed a Hamas security target in Gaza City and tunnels used by the militant group along the border with Egypt. | |
| There were no reports of casualties in Gaza following the attacks late on Sunday. | There were no reports of casualties in Gaza following the attacks late on Sunday. |
| Israeli PM Ehud Olmert had earlier vowed a "disproportionate" response to rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, after at least two rockets hit southern Israel, injuring two soldiers and a civilian. | Israeli PM Ehud Olmert had earlier vowed a "disproportionate" response to rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, after at least two rockets hit southern Israel, injuring two soldiers and a civilian. |
| The Israeli civilian casualty was the first since the 18 January ceasefires which ended Israel's three-week assault on Gaza, which it said was aimed at stopping rocket attacks. | The Israeli civilian casualty was the first since the 18 January ceasefires which ended Israel's three-week assault on Gaza, which it said was aimed at stopping rocket attacks. |
| Both Israel and Hamas have independently declared ceasefires, but they have been broken several times. | |
| About 1,300 Palestinians and 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in Israel's devastating three-week assault on Gaza. About a third of the Palestinian dead and wounded were civilians, while three Israeli citizens died in rocket attacks. | |