Israel is ready to declare an immediate ceasefire and resume peace talks, former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, now regional cooperation minister, told the BBC on Sunday.
"Israel is really ready to have a ceasefire immediately and we're ready to renew the peace negotiations," said Peres, a Nobel laureate.
He spoke after attending an Israeli cabinet meeting called in preparation for an emergency Middle East summit due to be held Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Peres added that if an accord was reached: "I think in 12 hours, you have to have a complete ceasefire."
He also appealed for a "change of tone in the media, to stop the incitements, to stop the inflammation, to call people to go back to reason."
"Nobody has a choice but to continue the peace. Any other alternative will be a tragedy for all parties concerned," Peres said.
More than two weeks of violent clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories have claimed more than 100 lives and left the peace process in tatters -- LONDON (AFP)
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