The Hamas declares Ceasefire Rule
Gives the IDF one week to Withdraw
Israel will only do it if Ceasefire is Real
Other terror groups sign on to Calm Deal
January 18, 2009
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Begin Excerpt 1 from Jerusalem Post
Hamas declares ceasefire, gives IDF one week to withdraw
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, JPOST.COM STAFF, AND AP
January 18, 2009
Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal announced on Syrian television on Sunday afternoon that the Islamic group would implement a cease-fire in which they would halt all military activity and give IDF troops one week to pull out of the Gaza Strip.
According to the statement, Israel must end the blockade and open the border crossings.
A leader of the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip said
that his group agreed to the Hamas truce, and said that o
ther smaller Palestinian factions have signed on, as well.
The development comes after Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire which took effect earlier Sunday morning.
The two cease-fires do not appear to be coordinated with each other, and have contradicting demands.
While Israel said it would halt all military activity, it said it would maintain its presence in Gaza until it was clear that Palestinian gunmen would honor the calm.
In addition, Israel said it would not open any border crossings until all hostilities have ceased.
Shortly after the Hamas declaration, the spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office reaffirmed Israel’s position and expressed hope that the calm would be maintained for the long-term.
“If in fact we see a cessation of Hamas activity towards Israel, then we could see a long-term ceasefire,” Mark Regev told Sky News.
He added that Israel “clearly does not want to” stay in Gaza, and that Israel would do everyth
ing it could to maintain the calm.
On Saturday, Hamas said it would continue to fight despite Israel’s decision unilaterally end the offensive.
However, defiant statements issued by a number of Hamas representatives were countered by sources close to the movement which said the group would honor the cease-fire.
“Hamas needs the lull,” the sources said. “They have been hit hard and they have no choice but to comply.”
Hamas representatives said they would resist any attempt by Israel or other parties to confiscate its weapons. They also warned against allowing forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the Strip.
“We will continue the resistance operations for as long as there is one Zionist soldier in the Gaza Strip,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said. “We will continue regardless of the price.”
Fawzi said Hamas’s conditions for accepting a cease-fire included a halt to the IDF operation, the reopening of the border crossings into the Gaza Strip and the lifting of the blockade.
The Hamas spokesman said that the decision to declare a unilateral cease-fire showed that the war was also a unilateral move on the part of Israel against the Palestinians.
“This war had nothing to do with the rockets or the presence of Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “This war against children, women and the elderly was part of the upcoming Israeli election campaign.”
Hamas also voiced opposition to the US-Israeli agreement to stop the smuggling of weapons under the border between Gaza and Egypt.
“This agreement is aimed at tightening the siege around the Gaza Strip and establishing a new base for spying on the Palestinians and Egypt.”
Begin Excerpt 2 from Jerusalem Post
PM: We reserve right to renew op
January 18, 2009
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Following the renewal of Gaza rocket-fire after the start of an Israeli unilateral cease-fire in the Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the morning’s events showed how “fragile” the truce was and emphasized that Israel would renew the military offensive in the territory if the attacks don’t stop.
“We are monitoring all of the developments, minute after minute, hour after hour,” the prime minister said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
“The military forces in the Strip have their eyes wide open, are attentive to any rustle and ready for any order from their commanders,” Olmert continued. “The decision on the cease-fire leaves Israel the right to react and renew its military actions if the terror groups continue firing,” he said.
Olmert also had warm words for Likud chairman and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.
“I would like to praise the opposition leader for supporting the government during the operation and explaining Israel’s position to the world,” he said.
The prime minister also hailed Egypt. “Egypt’s backing of the understanding that we hold fire while the IDF remains in Gaza is not to be taken for granted, this is no trivial matter,” he said, adding that it showed Egypt’s determination to prevent arms smuggling through its border.
“All the world agrees that Hamas’s arming must be stopped,” he continued, stressing that now, after the operation, the entire world understands “that Hamas is Iran’s Gaza branch.”
Before the meeting, Shas chairman Eli Yishai, who voted against the cease-fire at Saturday night’s security cabinet meeting, said that “as long as [captured IDF soldier Gilad] Schalit is not home, the IDF mustn’ t cease i
ts fire. I am not opposed to a new-type of ground deployment in Gaza, but we must continue air strikes.”
Similarly, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann said that “IDF troops are deployed in Gaza and I hope that they won’t be pulled out without the Gilad Schalit issue being solved.”
Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the army made the most of the first stages of the operation, but that “no one expected them [Gaza terrorists] to stop firing immediately after the cease-fire had gone into effect.”
Meanwhile, Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On criticized the decision to keep IDF troops in Gaza.
“Remaining in Gaza is a prize for Hamas,” she said in a statement.
“The moment a unilateral cease-fire was agreed upon, the IDF should have pulled out of Gaza.”
“This is a continuation of the foolish move to deploy ground troops, which makes Israel responsible for what goes on there,” the statement continued.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
You may use material originated by this site.
However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.