LOC13:15
10:15 GMT
CAIRO, July 18 (KUNA) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas unveiled Friday that he is talking with different Palestinian factions to persuade them to accept the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire with Israel.
In a meeting with journalists at his residency in Cairo, President Abbas said he has discussed the developments in Gaza and the Egyptian proposal with Deputy Secretary General of Islamic Jihad Movement Zayyad Al-Nakhala.
"There was some kind of good response from the Islamic Jihad and I asked them to persuade Hamas to accept the initiative which calls for an immediate end to bombardment and destruction," President Abbas said.
He also voiced readiness to hold a meeting with Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Mashaal to discuss the Egyptian proposal and expressed rejection to any alternative or amendment to the proposal.
He stated that he has held a meeting late Thursday Egyptian President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi to review the details of the Egyptian proposal.
He urged Israel not to go ahead with a ground military incursion to Gaza Strip in order not to complicate things and hamper efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire. (end)
rg.ibi