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Hamas 'working toward a truce'
23/12/2007 08:09 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Hamas is drafting terms for a temporary ceasefire with Israel while trying to gain support from other Palestinian factions to accept it, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Israel Radio cited senior Hamas officials as saying the militant group is working toward a limited truce with Israel and is in talks with other armed Palestinian groups for their support.
Hamas first floated the idea of a truce in a phone call to an Israeli TV reporter on Tuesday from Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas government in Gaza. The proposal was officially made on Thursday through Egyptian mediators. Previous truces have been negotiated through Egyptian mediation, but none have held for long.
Palestinian militants fire almost daily rocket barrages at communities in southern Israel and the army has struck back hard, killing 20 Gaza militants in airstrikes and ground operations in the past week.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, said the reports of a truce draft were "untrue".
"There is continuous Israeli aggression, and there is resistance. The ball is still in Israel's court," he said. "It is up to (Israel) because when they stop all their aggressions we will then discuss the issue."
A senior member of Islamic Jihad said there has been no discussion between his group and Hamas about a truce.
'Truce is not on the table...'
"We don't think the priority should be talking about a truce," said Islamic Jihad's Nafez Azzam. "Talking about a truce should be directed first to the party that continues the killing and airstrikes. Truce is not on the table now in light of the Israeli aggression."
Islamic Jihad is responsible for most of the rockets that have disrupted life in southern Israel. Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets at communities in southern Israel and the army has struck back hard, killing 20 Gaza militants in airstrikes and ground operations in the past week.
At least three high-ranking Israeli officials said this week that they favour a conditional ceasefire with Hamas, if the militant group that controls Gaza halts rocket fire into Israel.
On Saturday, Cabinet Minister Ami Ayalon added his voice in favour of the proposal.
Ayalon, a former head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, also said that Israeli intelligence had failed by not gathering the means to secure the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-affiliated militants last year.
"We could not carry out a military operation to release Shalit because of an intelligence failure," he said. "The intelligence community did not gather enough information to carry out such an operation."
Israeli defence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said on Friday, without providing details, that the government was examining the Hamas offer. But Israel's official position remains that it will not talk to Hamas unless the group renounces all violence, recognises Israel's right to exist and accepts previous peace agreements.
'This is a honey trap...'
Amos Gilad, head of the political department at Israel's defence ministry, said on Saturday that Hamas has no real intention of honouring a truce, and is merely seeking a temporary ceasefire in order to regroup and rearm. Gilad said Israel will press ahead in its fight against militants as long as rocket fire persists.
"From time to time they offer a halt in operations when they have suffered a serious or significant blow," Gilad told Israel Radio. "They have no intentions of a real truce," he said.
Taher Nunu, a Hamas government official, said Gilad's comments are "an attempt to escape the requirements of a truce that it has to live up to. This is a diplomatic rejection of any possible truce", he said.
Zeev Boim, a Cabinet minister, echoed Gilad's sentiments in an interview with Channel 1 TV.
"This is a honey trap, they need some breathing room, they are under a lot of pressure," he said.
- AP
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