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An IDF soldier directing a tank onto a truck near the Kerem Shalom border crossing just outside the Gaza Strip on Thursday. (Reuters)
Last update - 10:12 20/06/2008
Military sources: IDF to redeploy troops from Gaza if truce holds
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Tags: Gaza, Israel, Hamas 

The calm in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli communities bordering the Palestinian territory was maintained throughout the day Thursday, after the agreement for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect at 6 A.M.

Military sources said Thursday that if the one-day-old Gaza cease-fire holds, the army will redeploy some of its troops, currently stationed near the Strip, to other sectors or for training. At the moment, the troops are on high alert.

The truce began a day after about 30 Qassam rockets were fired from the Strip at communities along its border, lightly wounding one woman.
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Moments before the truce took hold, the Israel Air Force killed a member of a Qassam rocket squad preparing to launch near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Palestinian sources said the man killed was a Hamas operative.

Hamas reported that the Israel Navy fired four shells into the waters off Gaza City just after the truce began. But the shells fell about 500 yards from shore and there were no apparent targets in the area, witnesses reported. The Israel Defense Forces said it had fired warning shots into the air after Palestinian fishermen entered Israeli water.

The resumption of the transfer of goods from Israel to the Gaza Strip through the Sufa Crossing went into effect following the start of the cease-fire. Security sources said that the number of trucks permitted to bring goods to the coastal territory will increase on Sunday morning, from 60 to 80 or 90.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Hamas on Thursday that the cease-fire was the militant group's last chance to avoid an IDF incursion into the Gaza Strip.

Hamas supporters and the people of Gaza were "pissed off with Hamas" after years of violence, Olmert said in an interview with Australia's Sydney Morning Herald.

"I think the strategy of Hamas, which does not want to recognise Israel's right to exist in the first place, and the extremism, and the fanaticism, and the religious dogmatism, is the enemy of peace," Olmert reportedly told the newspaper.

"We are at the end of our tolerance with regard to terror in Gaza," he stated.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev on Thursday said Israel would fully implement all its commitments but added, "Our eyes are open, we are closely following what the other side is doing."

In the West Bank, which is not subject to the cease-fire, IDF troops early Thursday arrested 14 wanted Palestinians, and an IDF officer was lightly wounded in an exchange of gunfire with militants in the town of Nablus.

In Washington, White House deputy press secretary Gordon Johndroe was hopeful about the cease-fire.

"We hope this means no more rockets will be fired by Hamas at innocent Israelis as well as lead to a better atmosphere for talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," he said, "but for that to happen, Hamas has to choose to become a legitimate political party and give up terrorism."

And United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed the hope that the truce would provide security and an easing of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and end rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli targets.

Meanwhile, the IDF forces on the border with the Gaza Strip have been instructed to maintain restraint early in the cease-fire and to avoid any offensive operations.

The soldiers have been told they are allowed to respond if they come under fire; however, they have not been issued precise rules of engagement for the new situation that went into effect Thursday morning.

Similarly, no specific instructions have been issued on what actions to take if armed Palestinians are identified close to the border fence  inside the Gaza Strip.

New rules of engagement are expected in the coming days.

Hamas: Our forces won't deploy along Gaza border

Hamas sources said they do not intend to deploy any of their forces along the border so as to prevent any IDF operations.

They noted: "There is a decision among all factions that whoever violates the agreement will be dealt with by his organization."

The military wing of Hamas, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, has already announced that it intends to abide by the cease-fire agreement.

In a statement the Iz al-Din al-Qassam issued as the truce went
into effect, the group declared that the ceasefire was "not in anyway a free gift," and warned against any violations by Israel.

"Qassam Brigades is fully ready to launch a military strike that would shake the Zionist entity if they did not abide by all the items of the calm deal and the Zionist enemy would be responsible for any foolish act they may commit," the statement said.

Islamic Jihad has also said it would not violate the accord.

The head of the political-security bureau at the Defense Ministry, Major General (res.) Amos Gilad, told Haaretz Wednesday night that the real test of the truce will be "a complete cessation of terrorist activities. Even if a single Qassam rocket is launched by a small faction, that is a fundamental violation of the agreement. A single Qassam can murder - and one must remember that this is a weapon of fear."

He said Hamas is in a position to impose full compliance on the other factions in the Strip. "They have the capability. It is just a matter of will," he said.

In the first stage of the deal, militants are to halt their attacks on Israel, and Israel is to cease its raids. If the quiet holds, Israel will ease its blockade of Gaza on Sunday to allow the shipment of some supplies to resume. A week later Israel is to further ease restrictions at cargo crossings, which in recent months have been closed to all but humanitarian aid and restricted fuel supplies.

For the foreseeable future, the goods will be transferred through the Sufa Crossing, while the Karni Crossing, which has been closed for the last year, will open at an unspecified time.

The defense establishment said that renovations have only recently begun at the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was seriously damaged in a suicide attack in April, and that the work would take at least three months before the crossing could be reopened. The security sources added that the rate of goods transfers was also dependent on Hamas' adherence to the cease-fire deal.

In a final stage, negotiators are to tackle Hamas' demand to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt and Israel's insistence that Hamas release Shalit.

Rafah was snapped shut after Hamas violently wrested control of Gaza a year ago from security forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who now rules only in the West Bank. Although Rafah lies on the Gaza-Egypt border, Israel has had the power to idle it because Europeans monitoring the passage require Israeli security clearance to operate. That clearance has not been given since the Hamas takeover.

The Hamas Interior Ministry sent an email to reporters Thursday saying 260 Palestinians who had been stranded in Egypt after seeking medical treatment there had crossed back into Gaza through Rafah overnight. It said 5,517 Gazans, including students and Palestinians with residency abroad, have applied to leave if Rafah is opened.

"We expect very good news in the next few days," the ministry said - hinting at a temporary opening to allow those people to leave.

Amos Gilad: Negotiations on Shalit to resume next week

Gilad said that a significant portion of his talks in Egypt Tuesday revolved around abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

"It was agreed that there will be a great effort on this issue," he said, adding there was a basis for serious resumption of talks.

A senior political source said Wednesday that the negotiations on Shalit will resume next Tuesday in Egypt. On that day, Olmert will visit Egypt for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the cease-fire, Shalit and peace talks with the Palestinians.

Ofer Dekel, the prime minister's point man on the release of abducted IDF soldiers, will travel to Cairo, where he will meet Egypt's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who is expected to brief Dekel on the latest Hamas stance on a prisoner exchange.

Palestinian sources confirmed on Wednesday that intensive talks will begin next week on the prisoner exchange.

Related articles:
  • Noam Shalit: Gaza siege mustn't be lifted until Gilad freed
  • Eager yet untrusting, both sides of Gaza border await calm
  • ANALYSIS / For truce architect, Israel chose lesser of two evils
  • New dawn for kids who only know Qassams?
  • Fatigued, Gazans don't believe
  • Editorial: Aspiring to a lengthy cease-fire
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      1.   pit stop 02:31  |  JP 19/06/08
      2.   pit stop 02:32  |  JP 19/06/08
      3.   Ceasefire ? 03:05  |  Jack 19/06/08
      4.   For Whom The Bell Tolls 03:18  |  Jeff Northridge 19/06/08
      5.   Not a cease-fire or truce, just a "lull" 03:23  |  Free Gilad Shalit 19/06/08
      6.   The joke of a "truce" 03:25  |  Rabbi Yakov Lazaros 19/06/08
      7.   Outsider 03:52  |  Di 19/06/08
      8.   HOPE Israel is ready to return any fire.Free kicks encourage them 03:56  |  PETER SM 19/06/08
      9.   Truce Crap 04:05  |  Brod 19/06/08
      10.   Of course they will launch this is a ruse to re-arm. 04:37  |  Avram 19/06/08
      11.   will be dealt with by his organization 04:49  |  vik 19/06/08
      12.   Truce? 05:52  |  Hans 19/06/08
      13.   6 o`clock on the rock 05:54  |  Sal 19/06/08
      14.   Hamas declaration of another Divine Victory is coming 06:58  |  POP 19/06/08
      15.   one democratic state in palestine 06:59  |  bashar hassan 19/06/08
      16.   Truce won`t hold.Truce is with Hamas who won`t stop other faction 07:00  |  POP 19/06/08
      17.   Nothing will be resolved until 07:01  |  Dror 19/06/08
      18.   Another Olmert, Kadima Folly Throw These Idiots Out Of Office 07:05  |  Dish it Out 19/06/08
      19.   Leftist Shearing Right... 07:06  |  Ploni 19/06/08
      20.   Against the " weapon of fear." Assert Diplomacy of Fear Thru Real 07:13  |  Joseph.E 19/06/08
      21.   HAMAS: YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE 07:35  |  THE ARAB PEACE MYTH 19/06/08
      22.   Olmert says `Truce is fragile and may be very short` 08:37  |  The Threadmill 19/06/08
      23.   This "cease fire" will not last so long as Gilad Shalit is being 08:50  |  Ariel 19/06/08
      24.   The last truce had rockets flying from Gaza within an hour 08:51  |  Gina 19/06/08
      25.   Could not have been done with anyone else 08:58  |  isratinian 19/06/08
      26.   #3 A one-state solution isn`t a solution 09:01  |  DesMnsDave 19/06/08
      27.   we have to destroy hamas so why wait 09:06  |  harzion 19/06/08
      28.   like watching the receding horizon 09:07  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/06/08
      29.   Response to #3 09:12  |  Mike 19/06/08
      30.   A meaningless statement from Olmert 09:13  |  Clickfool 19/06/08
      31.   Nothing but a farce ! 09:15  |  Benjamina 19/06/08
      32.   Why Israel cannot be trusted in any Shalit deal # 5 09:16  |  Clickfool 19/06/08
      33.   At Last... 09:30  |  Steven Grumman 19/06/08
      34.   #3 09:47  |  Igor 19/06/08
      35.   I HOPE IT WILL NOT WORK 09:58  |  indrajaya 19/06/08
      36.   The Arab armies, maybe coming... 10:01  |  Maureen Ann 19/06/08
      37.   The Israeli people must finally learn to lose their fear of peace 10:09  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/06/08
      38.   Destroy the terrorists. 10:14  |  Jean Van Daem 19/06/08
      39.   cease fire is not in gaza 10:18  |  qofaras 19/06/08
      40.   This is serious. The US economy needs Middle East peace. 10:19  |  Michael 19/06/08
      41.   THE WORLD IS WATCHING VERY CLOSELY, VERY CLOSELY 10:28  |  indrajaya 19/06/08
      42.   Getting beyond the broken record stage 10:37  |  Tzfonit 19/06/08
      43.   clickfool "no goodwill" 11:00  |  yirmi 19/06/08
      44.   clickfool "olmert is too fragile to permit the release 11:04  |  zebulun 19/06/08
      45.   Will Israel call one kassam a violation? 11:32  |  Jonathan 19/06/08
      46.   #43, yirmi 11:38  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/06/08
      47.   Dear POP 11:41  |  mark hammond 19/06/08
      48.   to Bashar Hassan 11:42  |  Harry 19/06/08
      49.   @27 11:43  |  kay 19/06/08
      50.   Did Someone drop Olmert on his head is the question 11:44  |  Doreen 19/06/08
      51.   Why bother? 11:46  |  Nicole 19/06/08
      52.   To Jean Van Daem # 38 - No Victory in sight 11:57  |  Dolly 19/06/08
      53.   Clickfool 12:00  |  zionist 19/06/08
      54.   Indra 12:06  |  Dr. Wong, 19/06/08
      55.   The glass is half full...lets be optimistic. 12:20  |  Stephen. 19/06/08
      56.   Jonothan #45 Not a matter of numbers 12:31  |  Tzfonit 19/06/08
      57.   # 54, DR. WONG 12:33  |  indrajaya 19/06/08
      58.   The time for military action against Gaza is long overdue. 12:34  |  Jean Van Daem 19/06/08
      59.   arabs have no time for africans 12:51  |  harzion 19/06/08
      60.   To Bashar Hassan # 48 - Do not be carried away,,,,, 12:55  |  Josephus 19/06/08
      61.   Surrender to pressure 13:02  |  Hilda 19/06/08
      62.   bashar hassan"all the jews and arabs" Arabs? not" Palestinians" 13:08  |  PETER SM 19/06/08
      63.   The Truce 13:12  |  Massein 19/06/08
      64.   The prove that Hamas and Israel are the same shit 13:16  |  Ivan 19/06/08
      65.   Rocket-propelled diplomacy 13:16  |  Malka Leifer 19/06/08