WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has said that he would do “everything we can” to restore the 2012 ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.

At the annual White House Iftar dinner on Monday night, the President also welcomed Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, hoping that it could end the fighting that has already killed hundreds of civilians.

The crisis in the Middle East also cast its shadow on the White House event as an Arab advocacy group, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, called for a boycott of all government-hosted Iftar dinners.

The group said it had opted for the boycott because of continued US support to Israel and also over alleged government spying on American Muslims.

The first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, however, told reporters that he shared the group’s concerns but disagreed with the boycott. He said he believed the American Muslims should stay engaged with the greater community and should attend such events.

Two other Muslim members of the US Congress also attended the Iftar.

Other guests included Muslim envoys to Washington and prominent Muslim-Americans. As his Muslim guests broke their fast, President Obama told them that his administration would “do everything we can” to facilitate a return to the 2012 ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.

“We are encouraged that Egypt has made a proposal to accomplish this goal, which we hope can restore the calm that we’ve been seeking,” he said. “I believe further escalation benefits no one, least of all the Israeli and the Palestinian people.”

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Under the Egyptian plan, proposed late Monday, a 12-hour period of de-escalation was to begin at mid-morning Tuesday. Once both sides agree to halt hostilities, they would negotiate the terms of a longer-term truce.

But the armed wing of Hamas rejected the Egyptian plan, saying that it was “an initiative of kneeling and submission.” Al-Qassam Brigade also claimed that Egypt never share the plan with Hamas and they only learned about it from media reports. Israel resumed the airstrikes on Gaza after the rejection.

President Obama assured his Muslims guests that he would continue to strive for ending the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

“The situation in Gaza reminds us again that the status quo is unsustainable and that the only path to true security is a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, where differences are resolved peacefully and in ways that respect the dignity of all people,” he said.

Mr Obama noted that the pictures from Gaza and Israel were “heart wrenching” and the American people cared deeply about what’s happening there.

He acknowledged that there were “strong views and differences” on both sides but that further emphasized the need to end this tensions.

“Our goal has been and continues to be peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

“And I will say very clearly, no country can accept rocket fired indiscriminately at citizens,” said Mr Obama while referring to Hamas’s rocket attacks into Israel.

“And so, we’ve been very clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against what I consider to be inexcusable attacks from Hamas.”

The US president, however, also acknowledged grievances of the Palestinian people, noting that “on top of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that we’ve worked long and hard to alleviate,the death and injury of Palestinian civilians is a tragedy.”

That’s why the US had always emphasised the need to protect civilians, regardless of who they were or where they lived, said Mr Obama.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2014