.Hamas set for Gaza talks: report
The militant Palestinian group Hamas will send a delegation to Egypt for talks on the war in Gaza, Al-Jazeera television reports.
A Hamas official was quoted as saying Hamas was "answering an Egyptian invitation for a discussion.''
The report did not say what exactly would be discussed in the talks set for Monday, or whether the Hamas delegation would come from the Gaza Strip or from the Islamist group's offices in Damascus.
Hamas officials could not immediately be reached to confirm or deny the report.
The group has said it would be open to a ceasefire with Israel if the Jewish state would lift its blockade on Gaza and open the crossings into the densely populated, impoverished coastal strip.
After days of heavy aerial bombardment of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel on the weekend launched a ground offensive.
More than 510 Palestinians have been killed in the current conflict, which has sparked protests around the world.
A demonstration in Paris backing Israel attracted several thousand supporters.
But in Istanbul, organisers claimed 700,000 people had turned out for their protest.
Police in Turkey refused to give numbers, but central Istanbul's sprawling Caglayan square was packed with a sea of protesters.
"The bastards of the devil, go away from Palestine and the Middle East," said one banner in English.
Predominantly Muslim, non-Arab Turkey signed a military cooperation accord with Israel in 1996, but Ankara also has close ties with the Palestinians, whose cause enjoys widespread support, particularly among Islamist circles.
Thousands of Moroccans rallied in the capital Rabat, accusing Arab leaders of having failed the Palestinian people.
The demonstrators, about 40,000 according to police estimates, chanted expressions of anger over "the silence of Arab regimes".
Protesters also accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having "sold Gaza for (US) dollars".
Some in the Arab world have accused Egypt, which with Jordan is one of only two Arab nations to have signed peace treaties with the Jewish state, of complicity with the Israeli offensive on its doorstep.
Some of the Moroccan demonstrators trampled on a giant Israeli flag, while others brandished shoes in an allusion to the Iraqi journalist who threw his brogues at outgoing US President George W Bush last month.
In Lebanon, thousands demonstrated outside the UN headquarters in Beirut.
The UN Security Council met late on Saturday to discuss the crisis but failed to agree a resolution.
Lebanese riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at some 100 protesters near the US embassy compound in Awkar, north of Beirut, an AFP photographer said.
But in Paris, several thousand demonstrators waved Israeli flags and sang Hebrew hymns to show support for Israel in its military offensive in Gaza, a day after a huge pro-Palestinian rally.
About 12,000 demonstrators gathered on a street not far from the Israeli embassy, according to organisers, the CRIF, an umbrella group of French Jewish organisations. Police put the figure at 4,000.
On Saturday, more than 20,000 people marched in Paris to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn Israel's offensive, aimed at halting rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled territory.
In Greece, thousands of people marched for the second day running to protest the Israeli action.
More than 4,000 people joined protests outside the US embassy and the Israeli embassy in Athens, burning effigies of Bush and president-elect Barack Obama and both the Israeli and US flags.
Earlier on Sunday hundreds of protesters marched in the northern city of Thessaloniki, burning US and Israeli flags in front of the US consulate.
Thousands of people had already marched in both cities on Saturday.
Norwegian police said they had used tear gas to break up a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Oslo after the protesters started throwing rocks and eggs at them.
Several hundred people took part in the demonstration, according to Norwegian media reports.
Earlier on Sunday, thousands also marched through central Sydney and the southern city of Melbourne in Australia.
In the Canadian city of Montreal, some 5000 people according to media estimates, braved the bitter cold to march on the Israeli consulate to demand a halt to Israel's offensive.
This demonstration followed several marches on Saturday in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, which also demanded an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza.
In Iraq, some 200 protesters staged a protest in the southern Shi'ite shrine city of Karbala to condemn Israel and express support for embattled Palestinians.
SMH
A Hamas official was quoted as saying Hamas was "answering an Egyptian invitation for a discussion.''
The report did not say what exactly would be discussed in the talks set for Monday, or whether the Hamas delegation would come from the Gaza Strip or from the Islamist group's offices in Damascus.
Hamas officials could not immediately be reached to confirm or deny the report.
The group has said it would be open to a ceasefire with Israel if the Jewish state would lift its blockade on Gaza and open the crossings into the densely populated, impoverished coastal strip.
After days of heavy aerial bombardment of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel on the weekend launched a ground offensive.
More than 510 Palestinians have been killed in the current conflict, which has sparked protests around the world.
A demonstration in Paris backing Israel attracted several thousand supporters.
But in Istanbul, organisers claimed 700,000 people had turned out for their protest.
Police in Turkey refused to give numbers, but central Istanbul's sprawling Caglayan square was packed with a sea of protesters.
"The bastards of the devil, go away from Palestine and the Middle East," said one banner in English.
Predominantly Muslim, non-Arab Turkey signed a military cooperation accord with Israel in 1996, but Ankara also has close ties with the Palestinians, whose cause enjoys widespread support, particularly among Islamist circles.
Thousands of Moroccans rallied in the capital Rabat, accusing Arab leaders of having failed the Palestinian people.
The demonstrators, about 40,000 according to police estimates, chanted expressions of anger over "the silence of Arab regimes".
Protesters also accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having "sold Gaza for (US) dollars".
Some in the Arab world have accused Egypt, which with Jordan is one of only two Arab nations to have signed peace treaties with the Jewish state, of complicity with the Israeli offensive on its doorstep.
Some of the Moroccan demonstrators trampled on a giant Israeli flag, while others brandished shoes in an allusion to the Iraqi journalist who threw his brogues at outgoing US President George W Bush last month.
In Lebanon, thousands demonstrated outside the UN headquarters in Beirut.
The UN Security Council met late on Saturday to discuss the crisis but failed to agree a resolution.
Lebanese riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at some 100 protesters near the US embassy compound in Awkar, north of Beirut, an AFP photographer said.
But in Paris, several thousand demonstrators waved Israeli flags and sang Hebrew hymns to show support for Israel in its military offensive in Gaza, a day after a huge pro-Palestinian rally.
About 12,000 demonstrators gathered on a street not far from the Israeli embassy, according to organisers, the CRIF, an umbrella group of French Jewish organisations. Police put the figure at 4,000.
On Saturday, more than 20,000 people marched in Paris to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn Israel's offensive, aimed at halting rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled territory.
In Greece, thousands of people marched for the second day running to protest the Israeli action.
More than 4,000 people joined protests outside the US embassy and the Israeli embassy in Athens, burning effigies of Bush and president-elect Barack Obama and both the Israeli and US flags.
Earlier on Sunday hundreds of protesters marched in the northern city of Thessaloniki, burning US and Israeli flags in front of the US consulate.
Thousands of people had already marched in both cities on Saturday.
Norwegian police said they had used tear gas to break up a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Oslo after the protesters started throwing rocks and eggs at them.
Several hundred people took part in the demonstration, according to Norwegian media reports.
Earlier on Sunday, thousands also marched through central Sydney and the southern city of Melbourne in Australia.
In the Canadian city of Montreal, some 5000 people according to media estimates, braved the bitter cold to march on the Israeli consulate to demand a halt to Israel's offensive.
This demonstration followed several marches on Saturday in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, which also demanded an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza.
In Iraq, some 200 protesters staged a protest in the southern Shi'ite shrine city of Karbala to condemn Israel and express support for embattled Palestinians.
SMH
posted by madtom at 9:42 PM
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