Israel and Hamas accept truce
Israel has accepted an Egyptian-brokered deal for a truce in and around the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Israel public radio reported on Wednesday that Ehud Olmert, prime minister, and Ehud Barak, defence minister, had approved the truce with the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, overnight following the return to Israel of Amos Gilad, a top Barak aide, from Cairo where he had met Egyptian officials who had mediated with Hamas.
Egyptian officials who mediated the ceasefire said on Tuesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to begin the truce on Wednesday, the first since the Islamist group’s takeover of the Gaza Strip a year ago.
The truce, which was set to start at 6am local time, will bring a rare period of calm to the impoverished territory – halting Israeli military attacks and the firing of rockets by militants on towns in southern Israel.
Hossam Zaki, a spokesman of Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the Financial Times that “hostile and military actions will cease” at the agreed time. The opening of Gaza’s border crossings and the release of Palestinian prisoners would happen “gradually” at a later stage, he added.
He would not, however, confirm the existence of any agreement on these measures. He said Egypt viewed the ceasefire as a step towards reconciliation between the various Palestinian factions and towards advancing progress on a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The agreement may include Israel reopening the Karni and Sufa commercial crossings into Gaza, and Hamas guarantees that all Palestinian groups in Gaza will abide by the truce, Reuters news agency reported.
Talks on reopening Gaza’s main gateway, the Rafah crossing with Egypt, as well as on the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas since 2006, will be staged in parallel to the truce.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, confirmed the ceasefire. “We will be committed to the time of launching the truce, which has been defined by Egypt. But meanwhile we have the full right to react against Israeli aggression.”
The agreement comes as Hamas marks the first anniversary of its rule in the Gaza Strip, from which it ousted rival Fatah forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority.
In the past year, Israel has responded to increased rocket attacks from Gaza militants by launching military strikes that have killed hundreds of Palestinians, including many civilians. The Jewish state has also blocked supplies to Gaza, where 1.5m mostly impoverished Palestinians live.
LACK OF CONTEXT BY EXCLUSION OF RELEVANT INFORMATION AND FACTS: The journalist states that Israel’s response to the rocket attacks from Gaza has killed “hundreds of Palestinians, including many civilians.” However, the journalist fails to mention the fact that Israel too has suffered casualties - 14 Israelis have been killed since the beginning of 2008 alone.
The Israeli government has until now resisted a truce with Hamas, insisting that it would not negotiate with the group, and arguing that a ceasefire would allow the militants to regroup and replenish their weapons arsenal.
However, increased Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip, and economic pressure, have failed to stop the rocket attacks and have helped to reinforce the popularity of Hamas.
The ceasefire may still face setbacks amid violence between Israel and Gaza militants, and it is far from clear that it will last beyond a few months, in any case. Despite its promises, Hamas may not be able to prevent all attacks by smaller militant factions.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said that three air strikes near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis targeted militants travelling in vehicles. News agencies reported that five members of the Islamic Jihad group were killed when a missile struck their car.