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Last update - 23:47 26/06/2008
Hamas: Qassam fire is harming Palestinian interests
By Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid, Yossi Melman, and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: cease fire, Hamas, Israel 

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip voiced its rage on Thursday after Gaza militants fired two rockets into southern Israel Thursday, causing no injuries but further straining a shaky, week-old truce between Israel and the Gaza rulers.

The militant group Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated with Hamas rivals Fatah, claimed responsibility for Thursday's Qassam strikes. In a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Ma'an, Hamas warned the militant factions against violating the terms of the cease fire with Israel, saying such violations harmed the Palestinian national interest. Hamas also threatened to take the necessary steps against the violators.

A Hamas spokesman said the "tahadiyeh" (calm) was a national Palestinian interest, and that anyone who tried to sabotage it was acting in an "anti-national" way. He called on Egypt, which brokered the cease fire agreement, to talk to those factions that are "motivated by anti-national politics."
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The Hamas government spokesman added that harming the national interest for the purpose of settling personal scores "works to advance the interests of the Israeli occupation."

Earlier Thursday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called for Israel to respond militarily to the Qassam fire by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking after two Qassam rockets struck the western Negev Thursday, Livni said "there was a similar breach of the truce several days ago."

"I don't care who fired. Every breach must be met with an immediate military response. I made my opinion clear to both the prime minister and the defense minister following the first infraction, and I will make clear to my foreign counterparts too," Livni went on to say at the start of her meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militant group aligned to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack and demanded that the cease-fire be extended into the West Bank.

"The rocket attack was in response to Israeli violations. Any calm deal must end Israeli attacks on our people in the West Bank too," said Abu Qusai, spokesman for the group.

Israel said it would keep its border crossings with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip closed for a second day on Thursday, prompting the Islamist group to warn that the move could wreck the truce.

The crossings were opened on the day the truce went into effect last Thursday, but a decision was made to close them again Tuesday evening, following a violation of the cease-fire by Islamic Jihad militants firing Qassam rockets into Israel.

Two Israelis were lightly wounded during those attacks, as four Qassam struck the western Negev town of Sderot and the surrounding area.

Israeli military liaison official Peter Lerner said that the crossings would remain closed on Thursday and no date had been set for their reopening.

"It depends on the assessment of the situation following Tuesday's rocket attack," Lerner said.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire that began a week ago.

"If this closure continues it will render the deal for calm meaningless," Abu Zuhri said.

"Securing the continuation of the Palestinian factions' commitment to the deal hinges on the Occupation's lifting of the siege and the opening of all the crossings in the first 10 days," he said, referring to Israel.

Defense officials expressed concern during Wednesday's meeting that a continuation of the border closure may result in a complete breakdown of the cease-fire agreement with Hamas.

However, following a reassessment of the security situation, it was decided to open the crossings over the weekend. The security assessment will also determine whether extensive quantities of goods and supplies will be allowed into the Gaza Strip.

Security officials said Wednesday that Israel would permit humanitarian cases to cross into Israel for medical assistance through the Erez crossing.

The >Islamic Jihad militant group on Wednesday threatened to continue its rocket attacks on Israel, despite the truce.

Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio on Wednesday that Israel must respond to any continuation of Qassam fire with full force, despite the truce agreement.

"We will give them [Hamas] a chance, but if the Qassam fire on the Negev continues, Israel must respond in full force," Ben-Eliezer said.

Also on Thursday, Hamas forces shut down two smuggling tunnels running from southern Gaza to neighbouring Egypt. The area has long been a focus of concern for Israel in light of its assessments that Palestinians use tunnels to bring in weapons.

But Hamas said other kinds of contraband were being targeted and that the tunnel hunt, in which up to 40 of the secret passages could be closed, was not linked to the cease-fire.

"This is not a new campaign. It is an ongoing campaign to close down tunnels suspected of being used to smuggle drugs into our areas," said Interior Ministry spokesman Ehab al-Ghsain. "It has nothing to do with the calm agreement."

Israeli officials have said Israel's truce conditions included a demand that Cairo to do more to stop the flow of munitions from the Egyptian Sinai into Gaza.

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  • Jihad threatens to continue rocket attacks, despite truce
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      1.   Israel and the US Are Losers Big Time 05:19  |  Dave Levy 26/06/08
      2.   Example of disrespect for the Palestinian people 05:22  |  Avrum 26/06/08
      3.   And the Fourflushers Prevail Again 05:28  |  Dave Levy 26/06/08
      4.   Mine the Border between Israel and Gaza 05:31  |  Baruch Gold 26/06/08
      5.   keep it shut for 3 months 06:11  |  vik 26/06/08
      6.   seems to me 06:37  |  rm 26/06/08
      7.   Do not send anything through until Gilad is brought out .. 06:50  |  Axelrod 26/06/08
      8.   Baruch Gold 07:58  |  wibism 26/06/08
      9.   Dave Lavy, I have never heard a more childish analysis of our pol 07:59  |  Philip 26/06/08
      10.   How is that gonna save us from Qassams? 08:00  |  Philip 26/06/08
      11.   The border crossings should stay closed perminently. No one 09:15  |  Nahum 26/06/08
      12.   Dont open the crossings 09:40  |  KUTW 26/06/08
      13.   GAZA TRUCE 09:42  |  SAM 26/06/08
      14.   Israel should absolutely keep it closed. 09:53  |  Nechama 26/06/08
      15.   Baruch`s Idea Has Merit 10:25  |  Mark of Lewiston 26/06/08
      16.   LET us get this straight! The Pals broke the GAZA ceasefire. 10:55  |  PETER SM 26/06/08
      17.   Israel has no right to violate the fundament rights of Gazans 12:12  |  Dutch 26/06/08
      18.   Peter SM #13 12:41  |  Guido 26/06/08
      19.   13 Peter , It was Israel`s stupidity that broke the ceasefire 13:51  |  Dutch 26/06/08
      20.   Hey Dutch - Only Jordan Occupied the West Bank 13:52  |  Sid the Yid 26/06/08
      21.   dutch: Why should Israel gives any right 14:05  |  JP 26/06/08
      22.   Phillp-You need an education 14:13  |  Shmuel 26/06/08
      23.   #14 Dutch Naive and badly informed 14:19  |  Jacob 26/06/08
      24.   According to Egypt, it will stay closed until Gilad is home. 14:20  |  must begin here. 26/06/08
      25.   Guido 14:20  |  ChanahS 26/06/08
      26.   Why should the Gazan respect a corrupted Government 14:21  |  Simon 26/06/08
      27.   Peace, why can`t they bear it? 14:23  |  So very odd 26/06/08
      28.   #14 in desperate need of a map 14:25  |  izzy d 26/06/08
      29.   Why should the Gazan respect a corrupted Government 14:26  |  Think aboutit 26/06/08
      30.   To JP/ 19 14:45  |  Anne 26/06/08
      31.   The first `violation" - but Hamas is not off the hook 14:46  |  Mark Lincoln 26/06/08
      32.   Week into cease fire,fifth qassam strikes Negev 14:50  |  Marlene 26/06/08
      33.   a new rule, for ever quassam launched, one pal is on the target 14:54  |  JP 26/06/08
      34.   If this goes on, we`ll have to issue a verbal response 15:00  |  Allon 26/06/08
      35.   #15 Dutch. 15:04  |  John Allen 26/06/08
      36.   Cease Fire? 15:16  |  JordanisPalestine 26/06/08
      37.   To #31 - Why do you bother with an arab claiming he`s `dutch` 15:20  |  Arie 26/06/08
      38.   #18 Guido re Chana s and truth 15:20  |  Labhras 26/06/08
      39.   Haaretz: you know that Israel violated cease-fire 15 TIMES 15:24  |  Historian 26/06/08
      40.   #22 - Shmulik 15:25  |  Philip 26/06/08
      41.   Closure could wreck the truce, but qassams don`t. Strange people 15:36  |  x-ray 26/06/08
      42.   PROOF beyond any doubt....... 15:42  |  Dagma 26/06/08
      43.   SO useful idiots what is the spin for this one FROM GAZA? 15:45  |  PETER SM 26/06/08
      44.   Looking for patterns 15:48  |  Mark Lincoln 26/06/08
      45.   #31 mark lincoln`s double Dutch #17 15:54  |  odles 26/06/08
      46.   an apt expression of revisionism 15:55  |  peter 26/06/08
      47.   GUIDO.If Israel wanted to break the ceasefire why 1 bullet? 15:58  |  PETER SM 26/06/08
      48.   The patterns on the other side 16:01  |  Mark Lincoln 26/06/08
      49.   "Terrorists", not "militants" 16:08  |  Ed 26/06/08
      50.   historian doesn`t know the facts 16:09  |  ross 26/06/08
      51.   Trigger-happy Arabs as always....... 16:14  |  Dolly 26/06/08
      52.   NO GILAD, NO TRUCE...drop dead 16:17  |  dav 26/06/08
      53.   #39, historian...you`re funny! 16:27  |  DR 26/06/08
      54.   #39 historian cont`d... 16:29  |  DR 26/06/08
      55.   Dutch # 19 - Your Opinion is Worthless 16:34  |  WYSIWYG 26/06/08
      56.   I really don`t understand the Arabs of Gaza. How can they expect 16:40  |  Herman 26/06/08
      57.   #8 WIBISM - Prove your claim 16:44  |  * BEN JABO 26/06/08
      58.   Definition of "Cease Fire" 16:54  |  MIKE 26/06/08
      59.   What deal? 17:14  |  Dave Duncan 26/06/08
      60.   40 tunnels?? 40 TUNNELS? 17:16  |  royzer 26/06/08
      61.   "Truce" 17:16  |  Deeterdad 26/06/08
      62.   #8 wIBISM FUNNY FIRST NAME 17:21  |  Robert/Montreal 26/06/08
      63.   #55 WYSIWYG, The irony in your comment 17:21  |  Dutch 26/06/08
      64.   Mark Lincoln`s "patterns"... are they substantiated? 17:25  |  Joe Sittizen 26/06/08
      65.   historian fails history exam 17:30  |  odles 26/06/08
      66.   #10 Philip ref mining Jewish Neighbourhoods 17:30  |  Robert/Montreal 26/06/08
      67.   DR #54, historian... 17:35  |  Philip 26/06/08
      68.   Dutch # 63 No Friend to the Palestinians 17:37  |  WYSIWYG