Haarets: "Turkey worked behind the scenes for Gaza truce

Amid Turkish efforts, Egypt this week managed to get Hamas to agree to a cease-fire on the condition that Israel stop attacking the Gaza Strip, Israeli daily Haaretz reported yesterday. In talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby, and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa in Cairo on Sunday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pushed his plans for both internal Palestinian reconciliation and a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire, said the paper. During meetings with Sharaf and Elaraby, Davutoglu "tried to persuade them to change the Egyptian formula for Palestinian reconciliation," Haaretz said. An Egyptian source told Haaretz that Cairo views Turkish involvement favorably, but that "Turkey is not in a position to influence Israel and without that ability, its role cannot be significant. Egypt will continue to be the key country in implementing a cease-fire and in the question of reconciliation."