Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday gave their backing to the Franco-Egyptian plan for a ceasefire in Gaza according to DPA. Zapatero and Abbas called for an immediate ceasefire in a joint press conference in Madrid. Abbas said he was traveling to Cairo on Friday to push the Franco-Egyptian plan despite the reservations of the Palestinian movement Hamas. The Spanish government meanwhile "energetically condemned" the firing of rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon in the morning. Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos talked over the phone to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, who stressed the determination of the Lebanese authorities to avoid an escalation of violence, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
