REUTERS SUMMIT-Egypt PM says Gaza truce deal may be close

CAIRO Nov 19 (Reuters) - Egypt's efforts to negotiate a truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza are ongoing and a deal to stop the fighting could be close, the Egyptian prime minister said on Monday.

"Negotiations are going on as we speak and I hope we will reach something soon that will stop this violence and counter violence," Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said in an interview in Cairo for the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.

"I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation, (means) it is very difficult to predict," he said.