PRESS PAUSE

Israel, Palestinians Agree to Ceasefire

Another 72 hours.

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators appear to have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire that will begin at midnight on Sunday. Palestinians earlier accepted the pause in fighting to continue long-term talks with Israelis who had left the Egyptian-mediated discussions after Hamas continued launching rockets into Israel, and soon after Israeli officials signed on as well. "We are here to look for an agreement. We cannot have an agreement without talks, so we accepted an Egyptian proposal to have a cease-fire for 72 hours in order to resume the talks," said a Palestinian negotiator. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced he would not return to the peace talks until the bombardment stopped. "Israel will not negotiate under fire," he said.