Ellison Praises Egyptian President for Gaza Ceasefire

As Israel and the Palestinian faction Hamas accepted a ceasefire four days ago and stood down their respective armed forces after a multi-day exchange of rockets and bombs, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) expressed cautious hope for the future.

"If Hamas & Israel can negotiate ceasefire, prisoner exchange, they can negotiate peace. W/o negotiation for durable peace, we'll be back," his campaign tweeted last week.

As the violence began to spiral out of control a week before, Ellison had denounced both sides and called for an immediate ceasefire, according to the Huffington Post.

"I urge both sides to practice restraint and take immediate action to reduce hostilities. I have been to Sderot, Israel and the Gaza Strip, and conditions for ordinary people are horrific on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border," he told the online publication. "Dialogue and negotiation can help save lives now."

The Twin Cities politician took to Twitter the same day to express his concerns.

"Innocents and non-combatants need IDF and Hamas to defuse hostilities in Gaza now. Tragic loss of life on both sides. Cease fire," he wrote.

When the ceasefire deal was announced, Ellison praised Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi for helping broker a ceasefire deal between the sides.

"Many thanks to President Muhammad Morsi of Egypt for brokering cease fire," Ellison wrote on Twitter.