Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Truce in Gaza holding-for the most part!

This is from Al Jazeera.
As the headline would indicate Al Jazeera is not exactly pro-Israel, although they do point out that there was also a rocket from Gaza since the ceasefire. At least the truce seems to be holding and the incident cited by Al Jazeera is not in Gaza at all. However, the incident in the West Bank will put pressure on Abbas. There seems a definite move towards more accomodation between Abbas and Hamas and also a somewhat more pragmatic stance by Israel in dealing with Hamas. This is surely all to the good in terms of creating conditions for peace.

Israel kills West Bank Palestinians
Olmert, left, is meeting Mubarak to discuss the progress of the Gaza truce [Reuters]
Israeli troops have shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank town of Nablus, five days after a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian armed groups took effect.
Israeli troops killed the men on Tuesday in an exchange of fire, an Israeli military spokesman said, adding that one of them was a fighter from Islamic Jihad and the other was a "militant".
Nablus residents said that one of the men was a bystander killed by Israeli troops when he opened the door to his apartment, which lies next to the location of the raid.
The truce between Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, does not cover the West Bank.
Lamis Andoni, Al Jazeera's Middle East analyst, said: "The killings are a reminder that the truce in Gaza will remain shaky when it is not extended to include the West Bank.
"Israeli insistence on retaining freedom to conduct arrests and raids in the West Bank further undermines Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' standing, and makes it difficult for Hamas to demand Palestinian fighters adhere to the truce in Gaza."
Mortar attack
A mortar shell was also fired into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip the previous evening, the Israeli army said, in the first such incident since the truce came into effect.
No one was hurt by the missile, which landed in the Nahal Oz area after being launched from the central Gaza Strip, officials said on Tuesday.
"We are familiar with a mortar shell that landed near the security fence in northern Gaza on the Israeli side," an army spokeswoman said.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the reported incident on Monday evening, nor any confimation from Palestinian sources that such an incident took place.
Observers have said that both sides do not regard the incident as a violation of the ceasefire.
Gaza talks
Meanwhile, Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, is set to discuss the Gaza truce with Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, later on Tuesday.
The talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh are expected to focus on the fate of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas, as well as a possible prisoner exchange with the group.
Amr el-Kahky, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sharm el Sheikh, said that the main issue would be the release of certain Palestinian prisoners whom Israel deem to have blood on their hands, but whom the Palestinians see as resistance fighters.
The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian groups including Hamas, the largest Palestinian armed group, came into effect on Thursday.
Israeli forces have not entered the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since the truce took effect and has started to lift some restrictions there, easing the effects of a crippling economic blockade of the territory.
Egypt brokered the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as Tel Aviv rejects direct contact with the Palestinian organisation.
Olmert criticised
Olmert has been criticised at home for not making the truce conditional upon Hamas releasing Gilad Shalit, a soldier captured by them in 2006.
The Israeli prime minister has said that the deal includes a commitment by Hamas to make progress towards Shalit's release.
Regev said: "The issue of Gilad Shalit will be raised.
"Both states have a joint interest in putting this issue behind us. Ultimately, we want to see the situation in Gaza stabilised."
Israel has also called for Egypt to help stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt's Sinai peninsula into Gaza.
Ismail Haniya, a senior Hamas leader and former Palestinian prime minister, said on Monday that it was premature to judge whether the truce had been a success.
"It is too early to judge whether the occupation is adhering or not adhering to the understandings reached 10 days ago," Haniya said.
Haniya said his Hamas-run administration was "monitoring what is coming into the Gaza Strip and is in daily contact with our brothers in Egypt" to see that Israel eases its Gaza blockade.
El-Khaky said: "The re-opening of the Rafah border crossing [from Gaza to Egypt] is a pressure card that Israel is playing to try to secure and speed up the release of Gilad Shalit."

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