Middle East News

Jan 14, 2009, 16:54 GMT

Syria's al-Assad says Hamas might accept ceasefire

Damascus/Tel Aviv - Hamas, the Islamist group controlling the Gaza Strip, might support a ceasefire under certain conditions, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Wednesday in an interview broadcast by the BBC. 'They (Hamas) are for the ceasefire. But when we say ceasefire, we don't say ceasefire for just three days. It has to be sustainable,' said al-Assad. The prime ingredient to making a ceasefire sustainable, he said, is Israeli respect for the ceasefire. That would mean Israel would have to abstain from targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders, launched from military helicopters or drones. Al-Assad also said Israel would have to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip. Syria acts as a refuge for several Palestinian leaders. According to Ramattan, a Palestinian news service, Hamas officials have said they are interested in the Egyptian-backed ceasefire. However, no official Hamas statement was forthcoming. The Egyptian proposal would call for an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinian-controlled areas and a controlled opening of Gaza Strip border crossings, along with a stop to the smuggling of weapons into the salient.

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