Negotiators in Cairo desperately raced the clock in hopes of brokering peace in Gaza before the latest cease-fire runs out on Monday night.
All sides are trying to end fighting between Israel and Hamas-led Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip and improve conditions for the territory’s 1.8 million people. Israel wants guarantees to end rocket fire and attacks on its citizens.
A Palestinian negotiator said: “We are less optimistic than we were earlier.”
Nearly 2,000 Palestinians have been killed since fighting erupted on July 8.
“Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
“If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken.”
The five-day cease-fire ends Monday at midnight in Gaza — which is 5 p.m. in New York.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he objected to the UN’s appointment of Canadian law professor William Schabas to lead a probe of the fighting.
“He is supposed to be a judge, but he’s acting like a prosecutor,” Schumer said on John Catsimatidis’ WNYM radio show on Sunday.
With Wires