Report: Israel agrees in principle to Egyptian cease-fire proposal

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOST.COM STAFF
Israel agreed in principle to the Egyptian proposal for a Gaza truce, Egyptian television reported on Thursday evening. According to the report, Israel had reservations on the proposal, which will be shown to Hamas in the near future. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not acknowledge the report. Earlier on Thursday, Amos Gilad, the head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic- Security Bureau, returned to Israel from Cairo, where he had discussed the Egyptian cease-fire proposal. Gilad was updating Defense Minister Ehud Barak with details of his meetings, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Following the meeting with Barak, Gilad was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and senior officials of the Defense Establishment. Herb Keinon contributed to this report.