(dpa) - The Palestinian Authority will not return to the negotiating table with Israel until there was a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday.
He told reporters in Ramallah that Israel has to stop "its aggression against the Palestinian people."
The president did not explicitly call for an end to rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel, but observers said his call for a truce implied that the missile launchings should also stop.
Abbas suspended peace talks with Israel Sunday, to protest an Israeli air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip launched after an intensification of Palestinian rocket attacks on towns and villages adjacent to the salient.
Over 120 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in the five days of fighting and militants showered Israel with 258 rockets, including Grad-type Katyushas.