Gaza - Any ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would have to
extend to the West Bank, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said Wednesday.
'The lull, if accepted by the Israeli occupation, must be mutual,
comprehensive and applied in West Bank and Gaza Strip under a
national Palestinian agreement,' he said while opening a paediatric
hospital in Gaza City.
'The ball now is in the Israeli court,' he added.
Haniya's statements came as senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar
informed Egyptian mediators of the movement's stance regarding a
truce.
Egypt has been trying to forge a ceasefire between Hamas and other
Palestinian militant groups which almost-daily launch rockets at
Israeli towns and villages adjacent to the Gaza Strip, and Israel,
which launches regular airstrikes on, and ground forays into, the
salient.
Hamas, which administers the Gaza Strip, wants the truce to extend
also to the West Bank which is ruled by an unratified government set
up by President Mahmoud Abbas, and where Israel conducts nightly
arrest raids.
On Tuesday however Hamas spokesman Salah al-Bardaweel seemed to
hint that the Islamist group was prepared to give up on its demand
for the truce to include the West Bank, when he said Israel should
not be allowed to respond in the Gaza Strip to a 'distinguished'
attack against Israeli targets in the West Bank.
But Haniya said Wednesday that the truce 'must emphasize the
geographical unity of the Palestinian land and people.
The deal also had to include agreement by Israel to lift its
blockade on the Gaza Strip, tightened last June when Hamas gunmen
routed forces in the salient loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel has intensified the siege in response to intensified rocket
attacks from the salient, although it allows trucks carrying
humanitarian aid through.
Hamas has long angled for a truce, but Israel is hesitant, fearing
the militants will use the time to rearm and reorganise. Israel is
also loathe to be seen as having even indirect contacts with Hamas,
which it boycotts over the organizations refusal to change its
charter to recognize the Jewish state's right to exist.
Although former US President Jimmy Carter said Monday Hamas was
prepared to live in peace alongside Israel, exiled Hamas leader
Khaled Mashaal was quick to add that the movement was only interested
in a 10-year truce and would not recognize Israel.
Haniya said Wednesday that while Hamas was prepared to accept a
Palestinian state in the borders which existed before the 1967 war,
but stressed that this did not mean recognition of the Jewish state.
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