Israel calls for ‘direct dialogue’ with Palestinians

“We would like to move to direct dialogue immediately and I hope the Secretary-General will convince his partners in the Quartet in Moscow to ask the Palestinians to come in order to move to direct dialogue,” Shalom said.

Ban also expressed hope that the meeting in Moscow would “lead to direct negotiations between the parties.” The peace talks have been stalled since Israel attacked the Gaza strip in Operation Cast Lead,which was a military offensive carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces on the Gaza strop between December 2008 to January 2009,which claimed the lives of 1400 Palestinians as well as 13 Israelis.

On Monday,the Palestinians agreed to US-backed “indirect talks” or “proximity talks.” Shalom said: “After one year unfortunately that we lost¿. we are happy that the Palestinians took the decision.

They were looking at the backing and support of the Arab League.” On the Gaza front,Shalom stressed that dialogue with Hamas was not possible until Israeli soldier,Gilad Shalit who was captured in 2006 by the militants,was released.

“We don’t have any (issues) with the Palestinians themselves. Of course with the Hamas is different,” Shalom said,noting that the government could not deal with Hamas that governs Gaza in a manner similar to dealing with Fatah that hold power in the West Bank.

The United Nations has repeatedly called on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza,warning of a humanitarian disaster since basic materials could reach the Palestinians.

Shalom emphasised here that hundreds of trucks were being allowed into Gaza.

“Hundred of trucks are coming on a daily basis into Gaza with all kinds of products,” he said.

The January report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says a total of 2,062 truckloads of goods entered Gaza,a 21 percent decline compared to the number of truckloads that entered in December 2009.