PMO denies Israel holding talks with Hamas on Gaza truce

keeping it--They didn't each time they asked for and got one--Attacks continued--They always blamed it on break-a-way factions over which they had no control--Rockets kept on coming all the time--Wait for the Israel counter measures to take out the leaders and rocket squads--

I'm glad to see that you're so concerned--It's so much easier than keeping your vow to become a Human Shield--Now, if you expressed your sacharinne concerns in person, as promised I wouold be far more impressed--Just how long are you going to continue on land you stole from the Aboriginies--After all, home is where the heart should be--Well, since the Arabs started the mess in 1948, when they attacked Israel, the amount is considerable--Don't worry, Israel has lots of room in it's jails for terrorists & murderers--

If only I could,..."could recognise Hamas, but unfortunately I don`t.",...I can't. Pathetic terrorist, religion f"cks. Who in the world of reason could recognize you?!!! (except without a bomb belt?!)

...Stupid, Fatmah, any israeli in his right mind knows that the best pal'n(without regard of Hamas, Jihad, Fatah, pal'n) is the one who already had his meeting with alla. And the best solution for all is to help the pal's to see alla ASAP...

I could recognise Hamas, but unfortunately I don't. I also don't recognise their willingness to have peace therefore the offer (if one actually exists)must surely be to only rearm i.e. breed more goats to transport bombs. Why not just leave the universes black hole (Gaza) to self destruct. If need be, give it a hand.

Cease-fire - not a chance. Israel simply can't give up its present propaganda campaign and let the seed of doubt that it may not be the victim take root. Wait for the alternative - incursions, "operations" or whatever other provocations that they might be able to dream up

"According to the official, the government's stance remains unchanged, and will only hold talks with Hamas once it recognizes Israel and renounces terror." Why would talks be necessary? Cease fires can come about without an official agreement if both sides stop shooting at each other by "tacit understanding" without saying a word. Like VP Ramon said, "If Palestinians stopped firing rockets into Israel, Israel would have no reason to attack." So, if Hamas is serious, then they can stop the rockets and then it would be up to the IDF to stop its incursions into the Gaza Strip as long as there is no more hostile fire coming over the fence. It would be a shaky way to do things, but at least Hamas wouldn't have to speak to an Israeli directly and Israel could put off insisting on recognition before talks if there are no talks. One slip by either side though and the whole thing will go back to normal in a flash. I wonder how long it would last? 1 day? 2 days? A week would be miracle.

Typical Iranian tactic. When the heat gets turned up in the kitchen, the boy cries wolf. Burn Gaza to the ground. Send them to Egypt or Saudi Arabia. They feel for the Palestinians? Good here they are take care of them. Then Israel can annex Gaza and turn it into a beautiful coastline city. Let the Palestinians enoy the mirages of the desert.

Durson,lakshmi,clickfool,Dutch&Co. don't want peace.They peddle incitement to war and bloodshed.Any half attempt to put a stop to this bloody conflict worries them sick... If Hamas and Islamic Jihad didn't exist they would invent them.

Cipora, concise, precise assessment of Durson!

B, right on!

They will: 1. Renounce terror 2. disarm 3. recognize Israel 4. free Shalit

Don't tell me Israel would consider YET ANOTHER cease fire with HAMAS...who WILL ONLY REGROUP AND RE-ARM THEMSELVES FOR MORE ATTACKS TO KILL MORE ISRAELI'S!!!!!!!!!! They only want another ceasefire because you are creating havoc for them. Keep up the pressure and the elimination of leaders and terrorists. Go for the jugular Israel! Don't be naive.

Under the present circumstances, Hamas should take the leadership position and unilaterally make positive moves to prevent the Islamic Jihad and PRC from launching missile attacks. Hamas has done it in the past prior to the Gaza beach killings by Israeli artillery fire on June 8th, 2006. With world attention so critically focused on this conflict, I believe that Israel would be preempted to prevent that would be construed as provocation. If such a cessation of missile attacks were forthcoming, I hope that Israel would immediate cease their target assassinations. However, if Israel INTENDS TO CONTINUE THIS CONFLICT, then I predict that Israel would announce 1) a cease fire, stipulating that there be no missile attacks for a week or two, while simultaneously 2)continuing deadly provocations with continued targeted assassinations during that same one or two week period.

true about establishing the caliphate(which is ofcourse,not Hamas's goal)why would a ceasfire in which rockets will not be fired on israelis not be a plus! By your reasoning(or absence thereof)this stalemate is going to strengthen the quislings,or the nationalists as you call them?

"A senior official in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied Thursday that Israel was holding contacts with Hamas over a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip." - Haaretz Guess what, Hamas itself does not want to hold contact with Israel. They prefer that Egypt does it for them. And Israel prefers this method too. It seems that the light of reason may be shining upon the idiots in Jerusalem. Finally, it entered the thick head of the idiots that with a cease fire there will not be Qassam attacks on Sderot, the government will not look impotent, and it will not have to invade Gaza at the cost of hundreds of soldiers' lives. Halleluyah. "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." (Isaiah 9:2)

This is not a simple show of strength in which the strongest power wins and the weaker power capitulates. This war will last for many generations to come. A cease fire is as close to victory as Israel will ever get, and for this reason it will be accepted. If you don't realize this, then you have not been paying attention.

bring you own body bag

There were rockets fired within an hour of Israel evacuating the strip. Israel does not need to accept any cease-fire. The Israeli fire ceases when the rockets cease.

Cipora, you probably read only the heading of Natallie's post, not the entire content... She actually concurs with you...

i think that israhel needs to leave those poor people alone and go back to russia

without losing their faces. Israel wants permanent peace no hudna(cease-fire). Well Hamas, you have to think real hard: whether to let Gaza go down or surrender to Fatah and let peace reign, food, medicine and money flow into Gaza to people and alleviate their misery. It is up to you: fight or live!

No truce needed...just stop lobbying rockets. Israel must keep its options open as to how it is to deal with Gaza. They will be squirreling away more arms and strengthening their positions like Hezbollah.

with the rest of their fairy tales. Particularly the flying horse one.

A cease fire is never a victory. You are a fool.

What idiots are running our country? Now is the time to press for the kill and from the comfort of a secluded UAV control room with minimum IDF casualties. Don't give those SOB terrorists (Haaretz's "militants") another chance to regroup & bring in additional weaponry. Dammit. Can't anyone learn from US WWII brutal assault against Nazis/Japan? Spare nothing, no one. Total war. Total victory.

foreget about egypt. Cut the deal directly with hamas. Egypt is not reliable.Israel should be handling its diplomacy directly.hamas is bad news but they are more honest than fatah and if they want to, they can control the street.

No truce without him!

It is only a matter of time until Hamas obtains a weapon which can provide a more serious threat to Israel. This is the nature of war technology. Until that time arrives, it is a smart move for Hamas to make a truce with Israel. Israel will likely agree, due to pressure from the Americans as well as Israels own people, all of whom would regard a ceasefire as a victory for Israel. It would be a victory in the short term, but it would give Hamas an opportunity to consolidate their power in Gaza as well as give Hamas the initiative in resuming the war at some more opportune moment.

one never asks for atruce WHEN YOU ARE WINNING !!!

Last November Olmert agreed to a Gaza ceacefire with Abbas where no rockets would be fired from Gaza in return for no Israeli millitary operations. Within hours of the ceacefire coming into effect the rockets were falling & Olmert sat around for months trying to show the world that even if the other side didnt do their part of the bargin. The IDF were only allowed to use force if their own lives were under direct threat not the lives of other Israelis. Olmert didnt relatliate for months because he wanted to show everybody how he had higher morral standards and it was public preasure that forced him to act. Now he is going to fall into the same trap. He agrees to ceacefire, Hamas rearm and dont stick to their part of the deal and do nothing to stop other groups firing rockets because this is a deal with Hamas alone. This will not lead to peace or security for the residents of Sderot. Is Olmert going to be the man of morrals again and agree to this ceacefire while the rockets fall.

They would only use any cease fire for their own nefarious purposes. They would get more tons of explosives, more rpg's, longer ranging and more accurate missiles, while Iran and Syria would be running circles around the West.

Get a new angle on things

Palestinian people has Israel kidnapped and locked up? No double standards now Mr Jabo.

No even to consideration until Shalit released.

You said: "The Arab world is a strange group and the Palestinians are no different. Egypt celebrates its military losses as victories. Palestinians view negotating as weakness on the part of Israel.." For years Egypt, Syria and Jordan considered the '73 war a "victory" just because they had initial gains even though they eventually were embarrassingly routed by Israel. More recently, they won't stop harranging about Hizbollah's "victory" over Israel even though they lost 500 of their own men (as opposed to 100 IDF heros), didn't get Sheba Farms (as was their stated intent for starting the war), didn't get their prisoners out of Israeli jails (ditto) and now Lebanon is even more fragmented along Shiite/Sunni lines than before, thanks to the war. There were no winners in that war - only losers: the Lebanese people. That's the type of cancer Hizbollah is to Lebanon. Just like Hamas is a cancer to the Palestinians.

There have been plenty of ceacefires with Hamas in the past where they use the time to rearm and organise themselves to rapair damage Israel has done to them and when they are ready they start all again but stronger than ever. They have even said in the past that they see it as their right to use ceacefire time to rearm. There is a famous story that Arafat used to compare oslo to when speaking to arab audiences and Hamas believe in. Mohammed was on the warpath and then he came accross the Kuriesh people who were stronger than him so he agreed to agreed to make peace with them which lasted for 10 years and during this time of peace he built up his army and when he was ready he attacked the kuriesh and defeated them. This has allways been their attitude to ceacefires in the past Israel leaves them alone, they strenghen themselves and then they end the hudna and are a bigger threat than they would have been if the ceacefire hadnt been accepted. The politicians never learn from mistakes.

Give Hamas hell!

Have a step towards reality, where times changed: The world is fed up with Hamas & Co, so is Fatah and most Pals and civilized Muslims - all the world wants is to see them Hamas freaks being crushed already, trust me on this one where there is nothing in public opinions for Olmert and Israel to be worried about.

If Hamas can stop the ongoing Qassam rocket fire due to a cease-fire agreement, then they might even be able to do so when pushed further by the force of our allmighty IDF & IAF! Don't make em sign, but make em surrender, once and for all and for good - don't talk to terrorists! (If Olmert wants to see any light at the end of his tunnel, he better seeks the destruction of Hamas and therefore a positive outcome for himself in history's books. He better doesn't repeat the same mistake he did with Hezbollah, when giving up to finish em off.)

the release of Gilad Shalit--Let's not forget that just the other day Hamas threatened to harm Shalit if Israel invaded Gaza--That proves, despite Hamas' denials and lies, they had Shalit under their control all the time-- First the release of Shalit to prove sincerity and THEN Israel can think about the truce-- IF Shalit isn't freed, no truce, and a full scale invasion follows--Endless truces's are counter-productive, gives Hamas the time to re-arm again for the next round--

And, first of all, they should free Shalit.

I think Israel should not agree to the cease-fire. Hamas is offering it because Israel is harming the terrorists. So I believe Israel should keep on pounding the them and not allow them to gather new steam. Besides, we know what a cease-fire means for the pal terrorists -Israel ceases and they fire.

This shows what scum Hamas is. They won't think twice about brainwashing some kid to go out and commit one of those heinous suicide bombings but when Israel starts targeting Hamas or other terrorist leaders that's when they come grovelling to Israel begging for a ceasefire. It seems targeted assassinations is Israel's best way to deal with Hamas, Islamic Jihad et al. I hope the IDF doesn't let up on that.

Hopefully Hamas slowly realizes that they're fighting the losing battle, that each rocket does more harm to Palestinian cause. To be taken seriously as reps of Pal people Hamas must renounce violence against Israelis, free G. Shalit, destroy the Quassam producing/firing infrastructure. The hamas offer should be peace not the truce, than it makes sense for Israelis to negotiate. Until then Israelis have to do what they've been doing so sucessfully for last few days. Safety of Israelis should be Israel first priority. Hopefully Hamas will make wellbeing of ordinary Gazans their first priority too.

Its just what I have always said! All these funny named groups,committees,fronts etc are just Murder Inc SUBCONTRACTORS for Hamas . Same with Shalits Captors -ITS HAMAS HAMAS HAMAS all the time!

Hey, they shoot, we'll shoot back. They stop shooting, we'll stop shooting. Don't need an international conference. Of course, they can't stop shooting- because they have no political justification for staying in power in an economically failed Gaza unless they can justify themselves as continuing their "steadfast resistance" to peace.

Bigger and better armies than Hamas have tried to force Israel to disappear but have failed.

The Arab world is a strange group and the Palestinians are no different. Egypt celebrates its military losses as victories. Palestinians view negotating as weakness on the part of Israel. When Israel deals them a stiff blow, but kills innocent civilians Israel is demonized in the world press. However when Israel is defending itself with pinpoint targetted precision, the Palestinians look bad. That pressure needs to continue to the point where the entire Qassam infrastructure is destroyed. Then the borders have to be sealed tighter than a drum. If Egypt can't do it, then Israel will have to take that back and control it again. The Palestinians can't have their cake and eat it to. They want trade, they want to make a living, but they can't have terrorists coming and going. They decided once, voted for Hamas and it cost them dearly.

How many times are you going to get into a battle with Hamas, kill a few dozen of them, and accept their desperate truce, so they can rearm and send more rockets at you a week or two later? LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CRUSH THEM. JUST DO IT ALREADY. DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT THE WORLD THINKS. OLMERT, YOU'RE AN IDIOT. ISRAEL NEEDS TO BE RUN BY ITS MILITARY, NOT STUPID POLITICIANS.

IN the past Hamas has used ceasefires, which it has honoured to some degree, to rebuild, fortify, rearm, and restrategize. At then end of the day, Syria, Iran can fund the weapons, give the training but they leave the killing and dying to the Palestinians. Thats were the Brotherhood ends. Hamas also knows that the closer Israel gets to making a deal with Abbas, the more they stand to lose and be kept out of the picture. The more they stand to lose support in their own ranks when their West Bank relatives get their lands back, have peace. They will ask, rightfully so, hey where is our deal??? You idiots had to launch missiles and mortars and ruin it for all of us. Israel needs to keep the pressure up because its working. They shouldn't launch a large scale invasion but tactically take out the garbage, and keep this guys in hiding. Destroy their terror infrastructure and keep the masked marauders off the streets. In that way only will thinks start to change. Part 3

Quick throw your Israeli children down as human shields against the evil zionists before the opportunity is lost. for my part I'm sending Hamas a unicorn.

A Hamas cease-fire is simply the "default" option. It brings Israel back to the latest status quo- a Hamas-controlled Gaza. This is not an acceptable state of affairs, since Israel's goal is to dismantle Hamas and its terror infrastructure. So I suggest Israel makes a counter offer- surrender of all non-police weapons, acknowledgement of Israel, honoring of past agreements. And this should be an offer Hamas can't refuse- in case of non-agreement, Israel should guarantee a total assault on every Hamas member, using all methods possible.

Hamas has no need of any Egyption mediation or negotiation with Olmert in order to have a cease fire. All they have to do is to cease firing!!!! This is not about stopping violence, because Hamas has no interest in stopping violence, violence and terror are what they are all about. This is another end run on Abbas and his effort to get meaningfull concessions out of israeli cabinet. For the diehard zionists, the settler movement, and all those who believe in a Greater Israel from sea to river, nothing could be better than to undercut the palestinian nationalists by legitimizing Hamas. Hamas would soon betray any agreement, as they always do, just as soon as they have accomplished their purpose of destroying Abbas, and the standoff will continue with no palestinian state and no peace in our time, while the settlements multiply and Likud takes over. Hamas's masters care only about establishing the worldwide capliphate, and have no interest in a secular palestinian state.

It's like Russian dolls; whenever it suits your needs at the time, you say 'It isn't me shooting missiles at you, its a fringe extremist group. I can contain them, at a price - that you (Israel) stop defending yourself'. There's always a smaller group to blame everything on. Two years ago, Fatah was the 'moderate' and Hamas the 'fringe'. Now Hamas is the (respectable) moderate, and the I.Jihad is the fringe group. Each attains legitimacy by presenting itself as the 'moderator', bravely confronting the 'extremist'. Shame on anyone who takes this Hamas ploy seriously - morally or intellectually. This is an insult to the collective intelligence of civilized people everywhere.

If Hamas can impose a cease fire on the other groups, why not? No more attacks on Sderot or other peri-Gaza areas. No more attacks on Gaza, either. Make sure the agreement is clear. Neither side should look for loopholes.