Gaza militant: Hamas stopping rocket fire into Israel

...in the Negev! What kind of perverted Hamas spokesman have you turned into? "Israeli provocations"??!?!?!? You read the papers, so how could you come up with such a boner like "...an outbreak of peace on the Gaza Front"???!? Hamas leaders are repeatedly on the record as saying they will "never" make peace. Hamas' constitution says peace is not an option. Hamas is constantly arming itself via the smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian controlled border (yea, you conveniently forget about that too). All the other groups Hamas rules over support rocket fire against Israeli civilians. "...an outbreak of peace"? Get real, Mark. Ain't gonna happen if Hamas has anything to do with it. Hamas does not want peace with Israel, does not support peace, is opposed to peace talks, and says repeatedly that Fatah leaders are traitors for negotiating peace with Israel. Get real.

So either more rockets will fall or Israel will find a way to provoke rockets

I praise Hamas self restraint and patience despite all of Israel provocations with all there unjustified air-raids, illegal embargo, gate sniper assassins, home invasion, home eviction and illegal colonisation to name a few. Israel is terrified at the possibility that Hamas may gain international political credibility. Israel will do anything to provoke Hamas or other Palestinian factions (so that they can blame it on Hamas) in lunching there crude rockets. Most international news condemn Palestinian rocket lunch without trying to know why they lunched. I to always condemn rocket lunch toward Israel but i also like to know if Israel did something much greater as a provocation that deserve as much if not more condemnations.

this is good but we need to see both sides working towards peace...Israels continued settlement policy is simply illegal under international law..the same law that created israel...and lets not forget the crippling blocade (which until a few weeks ago included shoes and clothes)...as Dov Weisglass, an adviser to Ehud Olmert, former Israeli Prime Minister, said "The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet..."

Nothing would serve Netanyahu worse than an outbreak of peace on the Gaza Front.

Unless and until Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and all other arab terrorists abandon or are forced their goal of eliminating the State of Israel, there will never be peace. All other issues are irrelevant and Israel should not be fooled.

Hamas could have saved the lives of the 1000 plus Palestinians who died in the Gaza incursion if they would have taken such steps long ago. Only now do they finally come to their senses. What took them so long? Hamas' footdragging cost the Gazan people dearly.

Hamas will fight like "men"? Does this mean they will finally crawl out of the hiding holes they crept into during the Gaza war and actually face Israeli soldiers? Or will they continue to fire rockets and bullets from behind women and children, like hezbollah did?

As a loyal American, I'm sure she sees more balance in the U.S. using drone missile strikes against Afghan insurgents using flintlock muskets.

How can Khaled Meshal, living in Syria, decide the fate of poor Gazan people. How can he condemn the innocent people of Gaza to war. Khaled Meshal you are a coward, a coward.

"The Jews" didn't hide in concrete bunkers under hospitals when they were attacked by six well-equipped Arab armies with the latest western weaponry in 1948. We stood and fought--and many died. At the time, all Israel had was some small arms, a few tanks and some home-made artillery. Did the American Rebels hide from the British army, which was, at the time, the world's best equipped, best trained war machine? The cowardice of Hamas in a face-to-face confrontation is well-known. Don't try to find excuses for them.

Exaxrly what planet do you live on? In the weeks before Cast Lead, not only did Khaled Meshaal publicly declare that the cease-fire would not be extended, and to prove his point, more than 70 rockets landed inside Israel in the space of a few days. Read the Hamas Covenant. Understand that their declared objective is the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic shari'a state in its place. Understand that Hamas rejects any negotiated solution. Understand that their "mission statement" is the murder of Jews anywhere in the world. Once they think they've finished with the Jews, they'll start on the Christians... oops, they already have, oppressing the now tiny Christian minority that has shrunk from over 10,000 to less than 3,000 since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip.

Firing artillery rockets randomly into Israeli civilian border towns like Sderot, with no military targets whatever, is a clearly defined Hamas war crime (one of the few things Goldstone managed to get right). Hamas discontinuing this is not a "concession" Israel needs to reciprocate for, any more than Al Qaida deciding not to hijack airliners and crash them into New York buildings is something the US needs to reciprocate for. I think you understand this yourself, which is why your response included the idiotic claim that Israel plants mines across the border in Gaza, which neither you nor anybody else can offer the slightest evidence for - the stupidity of your claim is that only IDF runs patrols along the border fence, Hamas does not, or they would be picked off on sight by Israel.

hamas was shooting thousands of rockets into israel before cast lead defensive war...meaning they wanted a truce because they knew they were gonna get their asses handed to them...terrorists who hide behind civilians thats what hamas is ...u people always forget that they shot rockets into a sovereign nation giving israel the right to strike back...ur so ignorant its sickening

...let's see if they can keep their promise.

"fight like men, they hid like rabbits" So would you, fighting with rifles against Israelis armed to the teeth with the most advanced weaponry American money can buy...

Dr Bigot, is there anything you would allow Hamas to say that would not be criticised? FYI, this UNILATERAL truce, (in the lead up to cast lead slaughter, Hamas tried to get Israel to agree to an extension of Hamas' unilateral truce, and israel refused, please explain this???) which Israel will refuse to abide by, is much like Hamas' prior truces. Israel will not agree to a truce, because that would disallow their daily invasions/provocations. Please note that in the instance you refer to, israel invaded the gaza side, attacked arabs on the gaza side, and got their asses roundly kicked! As for the reference to planting explosives, what do you call the policy of israel planting mines on the GAZA SIDE OF THE FENCE??? These arebs were on their arab side of the fence, which israel supposedly "disengaged" from??? If I were as biased as you, I would hide my name too! I believe Dr Bigot suits you best!

LOL, what would you do it you were against people with nuclear weapons????? Think!!!!! Hamas has been ready for peace for years, Israel is the one that ruins it. Hamas has every right to be angry.

Even though the Hams are trying to achieve a ceasefire by cracking down on militants, what is the agenda behind it? One must perceive the cunning ways behind it before accepting it. If Hamas minds are put before a magnifying glass, a real ceasefire last for many years before Israel can really accept a declaration. Reason number one, Hams knows that it is absolutely impossible to get Israel to listen and accept anything Hamas declares without a seemingly real ceasefire. Number two, Once Hamas puts a temporary ceasefire by cracking down on militants for a couple of months to one or two years, Israel will mostly agree. Number three, Once Israel listens and sits down, the security alertness of Israel will start decaying. Hamas can then manipulate Israel into agreeing some future conditions while doing something else. In order for Israel continue to exist, new soldiers must continue to be put on drill. Espionage agents may lax but must be monitored & 'recharged' every few months.

They just want a monopoly on force, like any other government

Hamas has total control over all rocket firing into Israel. The proof of this is the recent incident demonstrating Hamas snipers hiding in the bushes near terrorist squads planting bombs and preparing rockets - to protect them from Israeli patrols that might come by. Hamas forces protect and provide cover fire for rocket squads. So they could just as easily fire AT the rocket squads if there was a problem with "control". They do not, because there is no control "problem". What Hamas is angling for is a claim of "100% effort but not 100% results", so they can continue to disrupt life in Israel by firing occassional rockets, say one/week, while avoiding int'l condemnation and bad press, and so as not to spoil chances of Israel's blockade being lessened. Given the small size of the area from which rockets are fired, and Hamas' efficiency at hunting down "traitors" and Abbas supporters, they can easily stop rocket fire any time they want. "Working to curb" is just a propaganda ploy.

Isn't it time for Israel to adopt peace and renounce violence?

If Hamas manages to adopt this more peaceful approach, and prevent people from ruining it, I know that Israel will reciprocate with respect and ultimately friendship. Just stop fighting and everything else can be worked out. Shalom/Salaam/Peace!