McCain suggests Bill Clinton as Gaza truce negotiator

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Leading Republican Senator John McCain suggested on Sunday that President Barack Obama should send Bill Clinton as a special envoy to try to negotiate peace between Israel and Hamas.

"The United States should obviously be as heavily influential as they can," Mr McCain told CBS television, referring to the bloody conflict that has raged since Wednesday between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamist rulers.

The Arizona Republican, who lost his 2008 presidential bid to Mr Obama, sang the praises of Mr Clinton, a Democrat, as someone uniquely placed to try to broker a truce between the sworn enemies.

"I know he'd hate me for saying that but we need a person of enormous prestige and influence to have these parties sit down together as an honest broker," said Mr McCain. "The United States of America has got to push as hard as we can to resolve this Israeli-Palestinian issue."