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Last update - 21:40 11/03/2008
Egypt FM: Cairo can forge truce between Israel and Gaza militants
By Avi Issacharoff , Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
Tags: Ehud Barak, Israel, peace 

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Tuesday he was hopeful that his country would be able to forge a truce between Israel and Gaza militants, thus bringing recent violence to a complete halt.

"The situation is still very difficult and we are hopeful that Egypt would manage in the near future to have a kind of arrangement between the Israelis and Palestinians whereby the firing of missiles will come to an end and the intrusions of the Israeli army will be stopped," Aboul Gheit said.

Both Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers have denied talk of having reached an official cease-fire.
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Referring to an understanding between the sides, Aboul Gheit said: "An agreement could include an exchange of prisoners and a lifting of restrictions at Gaza's Israeli-controlled crossings."

The foreign minister added: "If we would not manage to allow that situation to come to an end, then the situation will worsen again and that is not good for the people of Israel or the Palestinians."

In recent weeks, increased rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into Israel sparked a series of Israel Defense Forces raids that killed more than 120 Palestinians. Last week, an Israeli Arab terrorist gunned down students at a Jerusalem yeshiva, killing eight.

Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman on Thursday offered Palestinian factions an Israeli commitment it will cease its military operations against militants in Gaza if the factions made a commitment to halt the rocket fire from the Strip into Israel, the London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Ashkelon on Tuesday, ending a four-day lull in violence that began directly following the terrorist attack at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem last Thursday.

No damage or injuries were reported.

The rocket hit south Ashkelon only a few hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert toured the rocket-plagued city, warning that there is no way of assuring that the rocket fire on the city would not resume in the future.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) took responsibility for the rocket attack. But Israel held Hamas responsible.

"Hamas controls Gaza and they are responsible for every missile fired from Gaza into Israel. We have no illusions as to the extreme and hateful agenda of Hamas," said government spokesman Mark Regev.

Olmert said during his visit that the rocket fire on Ashkelon could not be seen as an isolated incident, adding that the situation in Ashkelon could not be compared to Sderot.

Abbas to Jordanian reporters: Barak is sabotaging peace process

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Jordanian reporters in Amman Tuesday that "a top Israeli official is sabotaging the peace talks with Israel over internal matters and due to a personal hostility toward me."

One of the Jordanian reporters who broke the story said that Abbas was referring to Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Abbas added that talks with Israel regarding the Palestinian refugees' right of return will go on for 10 more years at least.

On Monday, Abbas contradicted Barak's earlier statement and said that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Israel and Hamas. Abbas' statement came only a few hours after both Barak and Olmert said that no such cease fire had been agreed upon.

Abbas also said Monday that Hamas leaders wanted to reach a ceasefire because they feared for their lives.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denied Abbas' claims on Tuesday, saying that "these remarks are nothing but lies aimed at damaging Hamas' image."

"Hamas leaders seek martyrdom and would never bargain over the blood of their people like others do," Abu Zuhri said.




Related articles:
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  • Report: Hamas leader says hundreds of militants trained in Iran, Syria
  • Palestinians: Hamas, Hezbollah cooperated on Jerusalem terror attack
  • Hamas: Cease-fire deal must include West Bank
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      1.   building terrorism 13:04  |  Neutral observer 11/03/08
      2.   Surprise, surprise....., 13:16  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/03/08
      3.   Sabotaging Peace Talks? 13:18  |  Dan 11/03/08
      4.   C Rice causes Mideast Peace halt 13:24  |  John Isenhower 11/03/08
      5.   Barak is a Sabateur of Long Standing 13:37  |  Moshe 11/03/08
      6.   Moshe 13:44  |  Dan 11/03/08
      7.   Duplicitous Israeli and Palestinian leaders 13:46  |  Fairplay 11/03/08
      8.   Honest Abbas 13:47  |  Gene 11/03/08
      9.   ts... 14:19  |  pitcher 11/03/08
      10.   Reply to Dan (Post No. 3) 14:33  |  Johnny Weintraub 11/03/08
      11.   To Swiss (Dino)#2 14:40  |  Ilya 11/03/08
      12.   Abbas is mr cellophane...no brains ... no guts 15:02  |  real vision 11/03/08
      13.   RE Dino 15:10  |  Dan 11/03/08
      14.   Chinese Abbass 15:10  |  Nabulsi 11/03/08
      15.   Fear For Their Lives 15:12  |  MormoninUtah 11/03/08
      16.   HAMAS needs more" victories" after targetting Israeli civillians 15:13  |  PETER SM 11/03/08
      17.   #1 well said 15:25  |  Ken 11/03/08
      18.   # 11 Ilya 15:28  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/03/08
      19.   For the sake of "fairness", I condemn this new rocket attack..... 15:29  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/03/08
      20.   Kill The Terrorists` Leaders 15:31  |  Yishai Kohen 11/03/08
      21.   No Rocket from GAZA should be left without RETALIATION. 15:33  |  Vittorio 11/03/08
      22.   "Hamas seeks martyrdom"-I hope they find it soon. 15:36  |  Justice 11/03/08
      23.   Did this surprise you? Poor Palestinkians my ass 15:38  |  Robert/Montreal 11/03/08
      24.   If the Israeli government did indeed agree a truce with Hamas 15:40  |  Fairplay 11/03/08
      25.   Never Retaliate! 15:41  |  TZVI 11/03/08
      26.   #5 Mosh are you for real? 15:44  |  Robert/Montreal 11/03/08
      27.   Heartily Condemn this Aggression 15:51  |  ClickTuchas 11/03/08
      28.   Is it a Surprise....? 15:52  |  Dagma 11/03/08
      29.   # 13 Dan 15:54  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/03/08
      30.   israel you know what to do! End the vile siege,extend the 16:09  |  lakshmi 11/03/08
      31.   24 killed,over 200 wounded,the religion of peace,at it again!!!!! 16:11  |  terrornator 11/03/08
      32.   Abbas says a lot of things these days..... 16:14  |  Dolly 11/03/08
      33.   WHERE is CFOOL?He said it was going to be Israel 1st 16:19  |  PETER SM 11/03/08
      34.   Bad luck, Hamas leaders still alive 16:20  |  maurice 11/03/08
      35.   IDF KILL BABIES. END OCCUPATION. 16:26  |  mark 11/03/08
      36.   Come on, it`s "only" one Katjusha, and not even 16:26  |  MR 11/03/08
      37.   One rocket a day keeps the Israelis away! 16:47  |  Calvin Grinder 11/03/08
      38.   Tzvi #25 16:54  |  Mary Ashkelon 11/03/08
      39.   Abbas is now showing his real face 16:57  |  Daniel 11/03/08
      40.   #35 here is a tuff oine mark what occupation? 16:59  |  Robert/Montreal 11/03/08
      41.   Abbas` peace is usurpation of Israel 17:02  |  Brod 11/03/08
      42.   #30 lakshmi stuck like an old record 17:11  |  H 11/03/08
      43.   Just in time 17:13  |  Dav 11/03/08
      44.   lakshmi - give me a break 17:14  |  natan 11/03/08
      45.   More Rockets Launched & Olmert Still Wants A Truce, 17:15  |  Dish It Out 11/03/08
      46.   #20 Yisha Kohen 17:23  |  Jim 11/03/08
      47.   The rockets on Israeli territory cannot be tolerated. 17:25  |  Jean Van Daem 11/03/08
      48.   #33 PETER SM - don`t you know? 17:26  |  MR 11/03/08
      49.   Rocket on Ashkelon 17:26  |  Steve Gure 11/03/08
      50.   arabs/muslims think no one can live on their sacred soil,but yet, 17:30  |  terrornator 11/03/08
      51.   lakshmi #30/And then what? 17:36  |  Yehuda 11/03/08
      52.   lakshmi: You write "israel you know what to do!" I answer: "YES" 17:40  |  ISRAEL 11/03/08
      53.   Pathetic 17:41  |  Steven 11/03/08
      54.   security business having its golden years in all world 17:55  |  atilla karagözoğlu 11/03/08
      55.   PETER SM #33 17:58  |  Guido 11/03/08
      56.   # 30 lakshimi End the siege? 18:00  |  Jim 11/03/08
      57.   Barak = ex-IDF. IDF has constantly... 18:05  |  Dutch Dirk 11/03/08
      58.   Attack on Ashkelon Does Not Violate Cease Fire 18:10  |  MichaelF 11/03/08
      59.   Abbas to Jordanian reporers: Barak is sabotaging peace process 18:12  |  MichaelF 11/03/08
      60.   35 Mark 18:13  |  Vadim 11/03/08
      61.   One rocket does not break a lull 18:15  |  Tosefta 11/03/08
      62.   PFLP testing their control over the IDF 18:21  |  Pablo B 11/03/08
      63.   TZVI 25 18:21  |  Vadim 11/03/08
      64.   #40 ROBERT/MONTREAL: ONCE AGAIN 18:26  |  BigBadJohn 11/03/08
      65.   IF ABBAS IS IN JORDAN... 18:31  |  Ian 11/03/08
      66.   To Lakshmi (#30): What to do? 18:32  |  Morris Valentine 11/03/08
      67.   Action - Reaction Even a 3 year old child knows this,does Hamas ? 18:37  |  Ali 11/03/08
      68.   #36 MR "not even on Tel Aviv" 18:44  |  Jim 11/03/08
      69.   Hamas`s Image? 18:47  |  Richard 11/03/08
      70.   A Dangerous Education in East Jerusalem.... 19:05