Mideast ceasefire must be ‘durable’: Rice

April 26th, 2009 COLOMBO - The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sunday announced a unilateral ceasefire in Sri Lanka, a pro-rebel website reported. 'In the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to the calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of the US, India and others, the LTTE has announced a unilateral ceasefire,' TamilNet reported.

April 17th, 2009 CHENNAI - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Friday said India should sever all ties with Sri Lanka if the island nation does not announce a ceasefire immediately.

February 13th, 2009 GAZA CITY - Israel has rejected an 18-month ceasefire with Hamas and wants an open lull without a time-limit, the Islamist Hamas movement said Saturday. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said that Egypt, which has mediated between Israel and Hamas, and his movement can't accept such an open lull in accordance with Israel's request.

January 21st, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council has welcomed the Gaza ceasefire between Islamic Hamas militants and Israel, and called for making it into a durable truce with guarantees to prevent arms smuggling and opening border crossings. 'Members of the Security Council welcome the ceasefire in Gaza and the international and regional partners, in particular the Egyptian initiative, in helping bring this about,' a security council statement said Wednesday.

January 17th, 2009 BEIRUT - A Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, said Saturday if there is no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and no lifting of siege there will be no ceasefire. Hamdan was speaking shortly before the Israeli security cabinet announced a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza.

January 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US and Israel signed a bilateral deal Friday to help curb arms smuggling to Gaza as part of an effort to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the memorandum of understanding would improve information sharing between the two countries to prevent the weapons from reaching Hamas in Gaza, one of Israel's chief goals in its three-week incursion into the Gaza Strip.

January 15th, 2009 RAMALLAH - Visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday said in the West Bank City of Ramallah that there was 'no time to lose to reach cease fire' in the Gaza strip. During a joint news conference with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, Ban said the casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza were 'unbearable' and called for an immediate halt to fighting.

January 13th, 2009 STRASBOURG - European council president and Czech Premier Mirek Topolanek said Wednesday that Europe could help achieve peace in the Mideast but conceded that this might not happen soon. Presenting his programme to the European parliament in Strasbourg for his six-month term as EU president, the Czech leader devoted some of his time to the current Gaza conflict.

January 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush Monday reiterated his call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, insisting that Hamas stopping rocket attacks against Israel is a must.

January 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush has said Palestinian militants must first stop its rocket attacks on Israel before talks for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

January 8th, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN Security Council voted 14-0 late Thursday calling on Israel and Hamas to 'immediately' cease fire in the Gaza conflict. The statement said the ceasefire must be 'immediate, durable and fully respected ...

January 8th, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN Security Council has urged Israel and Hamas to immediately end the Gaza conflict, a call that follows 13 days of fighting that left over 800 people dead and thousands wounded. The 15-nation Security Council late Thursday voted 14-0, with the United States abstaining, to adopt the resolution demanding the ceasefire.

January 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to New York Tuesday to attend an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Rice will push for a three-point ceasefire that would include a halt to Hamas rocket attacks against Israel, the opening of crossings into the isolated enclave and address tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

January 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush Friday called for a 'meaningful ceasefire' to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East after a week of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip and missile attacks by the militant Islamic group Hamas into Israel.

December 27th, 2008 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has blamed Hamas for breaking the ceasefire with Israel that led to renewed violence in Gaza. 'The United States strongly condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and holds Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence in Gaza,' Rice said in a statement Saturday.