Report: Hamas turned down a cease fire

Hamas turned down a cease fire offer from Israel last week according to a report on the Walla! news site.

Despite reports that Cairo has been staying out of the conflict between Israel and Gaza-based terrorist groups, Egyptian officials have reportedly been working behind the scenes to broker a temporary ceasefire between the sides - but to no avail. Attempts to do so ultimately fizzled out last week, and rocket fire on Israel continued. 

However, while Hamas and PLO officials have blamed Israel for the lack of a cease-fire, it was actually Hamas who rejected the offer of a 40-hour "cooling-off" period, Walla! News revealed Sunday. 

Both Israeli and Palestinian Arab sources told the daily that Cairo presented Israel's offer of a ceasefire to Deputy Head of the unity government Political Bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk last week.

Marzouk immediately rejected the cease fire, the sources said, after a brief consultation with senior officials from Hamas's "military wing," the Ezzadine Al-Qassam Brigades.

Egyptian officials stressed that were not be responsible for publishing Hamas's rejection of the offer, but did say that Hamas would be responsible for the negative repercussions of that decision.

And it doesn't look like there's going to be a cease fire anytime soon either.

There appears to be a broad consensus within the coalition government on the issue. 

"The Israeli government at this stage is not answering ceasefire efforts because we want to know first that we have taken away Hamas's desire to do this again in another year or six months," Finance Minister and Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid told IDF Radio Sunday. 

"That has not happened yet. When that happens, then we can talk."

 Faster, faster....