CAIRO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The head Palestinian negotiator in Cairo, Azzam al-Ahmed, said on Wednesday that talks for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict had failed and the delegates were leaving Egypt.
Speaking after a truce in the fighting lapsed at midnight (2100 GMT), Azzam al-Ahmed of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's mainstream Fatah movement, said "Israel thwarted the contacts that could have brought peace ... there was an Israeli decision to make the Cairo talks fail."
Israel withdrew its delegates from Egypt earlier in response to renewed rocket fire from Gaza.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Chris Reese)
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