JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel said on Sunday it would consider an Egyptian-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal signed by 12 Palestinian factions but was non-committal about its prospects for success.



"We have to examine the proposal from the Egyptians, who are an important strategic element in the region," Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio.

Egyptian intelligence director "Omar Suleiman will come here, we will listen to him and we will see what he is proposing. Then we will make decisions, but at the moment nothing has been put on the table," Vilnai said.

A senior Israeli official told AFP after a cabinet meeting that Suleiman would arrive in Jerusalem on Monday to "discuss the situation in Gaza".

The official added that ministers had discussed the idea of a Gaza Strip ceasefire "in principle" at the weekly meeting, but declined to provide further details.

In late April, Egypt brokered a ceasefire proposal backed by 12 Palestinian armed factions, including the Islamist Hamas movement which rules Gaza and their rivals in the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Israel was expected to inquire about the length of any ceasefire and the fate of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants in 2006 and currently being held by Hamas at a secret location.

The talks with Suleiman will also focus on future control over the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt -- the only one that bypasses Israel.

Israel has demanded that the crossing be governed by a 2005 agreement that included European Union monitors and Israeli electronic surveillance, while Hamas has repeatedly rejected any foreign involvement.

Since Hamas seized power in Gaza nearly 11 months ago after ousting forces loyal to Abbas, Israel has launched near-daily raids on the territory as militants have fired hundreds of rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel.


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