Israeli vice PM calls for talks with Palestinians

Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Thursday that Israel should open negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) immediately, Israel's local newspaper Yedioth Aharonot reported.

"We need to see how we can turn Gaza from a battle field to a negotiation field, and how to hold talks even when there is no agreement," Peres was quoted as saying at the prime minister's conference on export in Tel Aviv.

The situation between Israelis and Palestinians significantly tensed up following an Israeli artillery bombardment that killed about 19 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel for baffling security, peace and stability in the region.

"It seems that (Israel) wishes the situation to become more deteriorating," Abbas said at a news conference held in Gaza City after the strike.

Later on Wednesday, the Israeli government expressed regret for the deaths of the Palestinians in the Israeli artillery strike in Beit Hanoun.

In the first official responding to the shelling, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that the Israeli troops did not intend to harm civilians, but mistakes occurred.

Source: Xinhua