Hillary Clinton Heading To Israel To Try To End Gaza Conflict
Secretary of State Hillary clinton is being dispatched by President barack Obama to the Middle East. President Obama hopes that CLinton can help the sides come to a truce agreement that will end the fighting in Israel. Hamas terrorists have fired more than 500 missiles into Israel in the last week and Israel has been responding with airstrikes targeting Hamas weapons infrastructure.
A US Deputy White House national Security Adviser said that Clinton is leaving from Cambodia on Tuesday for the Middle East. Clinton has been accompanying President Obama on his tour of Southeast Asia.
Clinton’s first stop in the Middle East is a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After she finishes in Israel she wil head to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. She will then depart and go to Egypt to meet with Egyptian leaders trying to negotiate a ceasefire.
President Obama has been fully supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself in the conflict but is trying to negotiate a truce in light of the very real possibility that Israel will invade Gaza with a ground operation to root out terrorists and destroy their offensive capabilities.
Hamas has said they will nto agree to any ceasefire unless Israel agrees to cease all attackson Gaza and completely open all of Gaza’s borders. Israel says it will not agree to end Operation Pillar of Defense unless all rocket attacks from Gaza end first.
10 Israeli civilians and more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the week long conflict.
