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Egypt working dual track for Gaza truce as rockets hit Negev
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Hamas, Egypt, cease-fire 

A Hamas delegation met with senior Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday in an effort to reach agreement on a cease-fire with Israel, as the IDF limited its responses to continued attacks from the Gaza Strip to pinpoint strikes.

Israel and Egypt also continued intensive talks on the cease-fire, but neither side is clear on how Hamas will respond to the Egyptian initiative for a long-term cease-fire and a return to normalcy.

Defense sources expressed optimism in recent days at the possibility that a deal for Shalit's release will be concluded in the near future.
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A source in the Prime Minister's Bureau said Monday that Israel is not party in any deal for a cease-fire with Hamas.

At least 10 mortars were fired on Monday at the western Negev, causing no damage or injuries.

In response, the air force targeted a vehicle carrying militants in Rafah. One of them was killed, two were seriously injured and some bystanders suffered minor injuries.

Palestinian sources said that the man killed was a member of the Popular Resistance Committees.

The air force also carried out attacks late Sunday night on Philadelphi Route tunnels in the southern Strip, and against a vacant police station in central Gaza. There were no reports of casualties as a result of the attacks, which followed the firing of 14 rockets and mortars at Israel.

Also Monday, 27-year-old Taysir Manasra, from the village of Bani Naim in the West Bank, was shot and killed by Israel Defense Forces troops near the settlement of Yatir, south of Hebron, after he tried to shoot at soldiers manning a roadblock.

Security sources say there has been a sharp rise in shooting, stone throwing and firebomb incidents against IDF troops and Israeli vehicles in the West Bank since the Gaza offensive began.

The IDF's current policy of restraint is directly linked to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who has put confines on Israel to be careful and not get carried away with a new escalation.

Security sources stressed that the decision on the type of response was made last week and that carrying out the planned response is based on the availability of "operational opportunities."

Barak's view, while reportedly backed by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, is not popular among the officer corps, including those who took part in Cast Lead. Sources among these officers argued that Israel is not meeting its promises to strike Hamas hard for violating the cease-fire, and expressed their concern that the lack of appropriate response will require the IDF to enter in force in the Strip in the coming months.

For now, negotiations toward a cease-fire with Hamas continue to run in two parallel tracks: Egypt is talking with Hamas representatives in Cairo, and Amos Gilad, the head of the security-political bureau at the Defense Ministry, is holding talks with the chief of Egyptian intelligence, General Omar Suleiman.

On the Israeli agenda with Egypt is the reopening of the crossings, the end to the smuggling along the border from Sinai, and a deal for the release of abducted IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit.

According to the information available to Israel, Hamas is holding out in its talks with Egypt and is busy with internal disagreements on the Egyptian initiative, making it difficult for the group to make a clear decision, a Defense source said.

"We are demanding an end to terrorism and an end to the smuggling," the source said. "But we are not making any agreements toward this end and we are not committing to anything vis a vis Hamas. Our message is clear: If you shoot or the smuggling resumes, we will attack militarily."

For its part, Hamas has demanded the unconditional reopening of the border crossings, but Israel has conditioned such deal to the release of Shalit, to which the Islamist group refuses.

Egypt has proposed a compromise that would allow only certain types of goods to be imported into the Strip, and a complete reopening after Shalit is released.

Cairo is also pressing Hamas for reconciliation with Fatah, but on Monday the Hamas leadership continued to challenge the authority of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole institution representing the Palestinians.

Another emerging bone of contention is the struggle among the various groups over who will control the funds that are being raised for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Anshel Pfeffer and Yair Ettinger contributed to this story.

Related articles:
  • Moshe Arens / A missed opportunity
  • Qassam hits Negev after IAF strikes Gaza gunmen
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