Palestine announced it would accept a 72-hour cease-fire Sunday in order to allow peace talks to progress with Israel, who refused to attend the talks if violence continued.

"Israel will not negotiate under fire. The operation will continue until its objective -- the restoration of quiet over a protracted period -- is achieved. ... It will take time, and stamina is required," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC.

Palestine agreed to the talks, but Israel was absent in Cairo and threatened that it would not attend unless there was a cease-fire. In turn, Palestine threatened to leave Cairo if Israel did not show up by Sunday.

Israel Hayom reported Azzam al-Ahmad said, "If it is proven to us that the Israeli delegation is setting conditions for its return to Cairo, we will not accept any condition for the continuation of the talks."

Less than 24-hours later, however, the Palestinians agreed to the cease-fire.

"We are here to look for an agreement. We cannot have an agreement without talks, so we accepted an Egyptian proposal to have a cease-fire for 72 hours in order to resume the talks," a Palestinian negotiator told The Associated Press.

The goal of the talks is for both nations to reach a long-term peace agreement after what has been deemed the worst battle since Hamas took over control of the Gaza strip in 2007.

Friday marked the start of a second month of violence since the strikes began on July 8, and since then, more than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed, according to NBC. Less than 70 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have died from the attacks.

A key demand for Palestine which would help create a long-term peace is to lift a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt eight years ago, according to the Guardian. Gazans are watching the peace talks closely to see if this will happen.

"Hamas was clever enough to raise slogans of raising the blockade because [they are] in touch with people's needs. Of course lifting the siege will benefit Hamas," Omar Shaban, an analyst in Gaza City, told the Guardian. "In the short term, they will say to the people, 'Look we achieved something,' and in the longer term, they will feel more relaxed. But [if the blockade is not eased] you create an incubator for radicalism and extremism. Everyone feels punished for something they didn't do."

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