Gaza deal 'not far away'

2009-01-06 20:16

Tiri - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday a deal to end the Israeli offensive in Gaza was "not far" away and asked Syria to help convince Hamas to co-operate in ending the conflict.

"I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from that.

"What is needed is simply for one of the players to start for things to go in the right direction," Sarkozy told reporters during a visit to French UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon.

Shuttling around the Middle East for a second day, Sarkozy headed to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to work out the details of a peace plan.

"I do not know if it will work. I am telling you that I am trying and if I am going back there (Sharm el-Sheikh) it is because there is a small hope," he said.

During a visit to Damascus, Sarkozy urged Syria to put pressure on its ally Hamas to support a compromise to halt violence that has killed at least 629 Palestinians and nine Israelis since December 27.

'Important contribution'

"I am convinced that Syria can provide an important contribution in seeking a solution," Sarkozy said after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria's ties with France and other European states have improved since Damascus helped defuse a political crisis in Lebanon last year.

"President Assad can play a role. He must convince Hamas to make the choice of reason, of peace and reconciliation," Sarkozy said.

Assad said any initiative must stop what he described as Israel's war crimes in Hamas-run Gaza and lift the blockade of the besieged territory.

Diplomats in the Syrian capital said France wanted Syria to exert its influence with Hamas to make sure any ceasefire sticks, but Syria has been careful not to be seen as acting as a guardian of Israel's security.

Guarantees

Israel launched its offensive with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Sarkozy said any ceasefire must include "serious guarantees" for the security of Israel and halt the attacks.

The French president earned wide praise during his country's tenure of the rotating six-month EU presidency last year for brokering a ceasefire between Russia and Georgia.

Humanitarian conditions

In Jerusalem, Sarkozy emphasised the need to improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, after meeting Israeli officials and calling for a ceasefire.

"I hope that today (Tuesday) European non-governmental organisations will enter Gaza, that there will be humanitarian corridors and medicine [deliveries]," he said.

More than 2 700 Palestinians have been wounded since Israel began its campaign to put an end to Hamas rocket attacks on its southern towns.

- Reuters