Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Sunday condemned Israel's continuous shelling of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, saying a return to the truce was the key to ending violence between the Palestinians and Israel, the official news agency MENA reported.

Abul Gheit also slammed Sunday's statement by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on his government's intention to continue military operations in the Gaza Strip even if Hamas agreed to a comprehensive ceasefire.

Abul Gheit said the Israeli shelling and assassinations would not end Qassam rocket attacks but would rather claim more innocent Palestinian lives.

Olmert said on Sunday that Israel will continue its crackdown on Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, and that no one involved in attacks against Israel will be immune.

Abul Gheit urged for the lifting of the Israeli siege, which he said prevented Palestinians from practicing their legitimate right of free movement in their territories.

"Such Israeli policy has cast its toll on the economic situation in the Gaza Strip," said Abul Gheit.

He also urged the Palestinian side to cooperate positively with Egypt to heal the rift among various Palestinian factions and reach a unified and practical stance.

Earlier in the day, Egyptian officials hosted a bilateral meeting with a Palestinian Fatah delegation, which would be followed by bilateral meetings between Egyptians and other five Palestinian factions, including Fatah's rival party Hamas.

These meetings were aimed to "work out a mechanism to consolidate the state of calm between Fatah and Hamas and to examine realizing full calm with Israel."

Source: Xinhua