Hamas turns down cease fire with Israel
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri announced Sunday that efforts to achieve a cease-fire between his movement and Israel have failed.
His announcement came shortly after Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met in Cairo with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and discussed with him ways of ending the current round of fighting.
Later, Morsi also met with Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah and discussed with him the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh phoned Morsi Sunday and discussed with him the prospects of achieving a cease-fire, Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip said.
The officials said that they were unaware of the presence of an Israeli official in Cairo for talks on a cease-fire.
Hamas has set two conditions for accepting a cease-fire: lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip and international assurances that Israel would stop assassinations and other military measures
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Sounds like a target-rich environment to me with or without Malki. I wonder if the IDF is going to stand down and let Hamas shoot rockets at us like they did when the Egyptian Prime Minister was there.Abu Zuhri said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad were "fully coordinated" in their position regarding the confrontation with Israel.
He was referring to reports that talked about differences between the two parties over reaching a cease-fire with Israel.
According to the reports, Islamic Jihad was strongly opposed to a cease-fire with Israel at this stage, while some Hamas political leaders have asked the Egyptians and Qataris to help end the fighting.
But as the Egyptians stepped up their efforts to end the fighting, Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin al-Kassam, vowed to continue launching rockets and missiles at Israel to avenge the killing of Palestinians by the IDF on Sunday.
Sources in the Gaza Strip said that Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elarabi was expected to visit Gaza City on Monday to express solidarity with the Palestinians against the IDF offensive.
Elarabi will be accomapnied by the foriegn ministers of Tunisia, Algiers, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, the sources said.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday dispatched top Fatah official Nabil Shaath to the Gaza Strip to receive the Arab League delegation.
However, it was not clear whether Hamas would allow PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki to enter the Gaza Strip together with the delegation.
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, Operation Pillar of Defense, Palestinian Islamic Jihad
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:33 AM
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