France's Sarkozy calls for Gaza ceasefire

By Francois Murphy

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a peace-brokering tour of the Middle East by calling on Monday for a cease-fire between Israel's army and Hamas Islamists, locked in combat in the Gaza Strip.

In the first half of his two-day visit to the region, Sarkozy said Israel had a duty to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza but Hamas was also to blame for breaching a cease-fire by launching rocket attacks against Israel.

"Israel must take a risk for peace," Sarkozy said at a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday evening, after which he met Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Sarkozy earned wide praise during his country's tenure of the rotating six-month EU presidency last year for brokering a cease-fire between Russia and Georgia and for his role in tackling the global financial crisis. But there was little sign that he had helped move towards a breakthrough on Gaza.

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 540 Palestinians in 10 days, and Israeli leaders have made clear they are in no rush to pull back ground and air forces despite growing international pressure.

"Because Israel is a democracy, it cannot leave the humanitarian situation as it is today," Sarkozy told a news conference in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he met after a lunch with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"We in Europe want a cease-fire as quickly as possible, and everyone understands that time is running against peace," Sarkozy said, adding later that Israel's actions would not bolster moderate leaders in the Arab world.

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