Several thousand people protested in Tel Aviv demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages held by the radical Palestinian group "Hamas", DPA reported, quoted by BNR .
The demonstrators carried placards reading "Negotiate now, leave later". to the members of the Netanyahu government. They again demanded the resignation of the prime minister and called for elections. The father of one of the hostages who are still in the captivity of "Hamas" has commented to DPA that for the current Israeli government his own survival is more important than the fate of the captives.
The Israeli TV channel "Can" quotes a cabinet representative, according to whom Israel will not send a delegation to the negotiations that began yesterday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. This will only happen if Israel's proposal for a truce is answered by the Hamas movement, which has sent its representatives to Cairo.
Meanwhile, yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the Israeli-Palestinian agreement, known as "Oslo 2", signed in Egypt by Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, on Palestinian self-government in the Gaza Strip and the city of Jericho.
Today in Cairo, negotiations to achieve peace in the Gaza Strip between Israel and "Hamas" continue, which are being conducted with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the USA. Agence France-Presse quoted an Israeli government official earlier tonight as accusing "Hamas" of obstructing the signing of an agreement.
A representative of the Palestinian movement has confirmed the offer to release the Israeli prisoners held, in exchange for an end to the war, with the Israeli army withdrawing from the Strip - conditions that Israel has already rejected.
There is no official data on exactly what Tel Aviv's proposal is, but according to the BBC it contains a commitment to a 40-day truce.