Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas pressed his rivals Hamas on Saturday to accept an Egyptian plan to end Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, as a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to discuss the proposal. "We hope that the (Hamas delegation) will reach an agreement without hesitation," Abbas told journalists after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who floated his peace plan on Tuesday.Hopes for peace are increasingly focused on Egypt's mediation efforts since both Israel and Hamas brushed off a U.N. Security Council resolution on Friday calling for an immediate truce in the fighting.
The Egyptian plan seeks to meet Israel's requirement of preventing weapons going to Gaza through Egyptian tunnels and Hamas's demand for a reopening of Gaza's borders to normal traffic.
Abbas stressed he wanted an international force in Gaza rather than controlling traffic on the Egyptian side of the border, as suggested by European countries.