Israel Accepts Cease-Fire Proposal, Suspends Operations for Three Hours
(commentary by Chaimfan inserted in italics)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestiniansIsrael conditionally welcomes cease-fire proposal
By IBRAHIM BARZAK and MATTI FRIEDMAN
GAZA CITY, Gaza – Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal Wednesday for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians, but also instructed the military to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.
Israel said it needs guarantees that any cease-fire will halt rocket fire and prevent Hamas from rearming, while Hamas demands that Gaza's blockaded border crossings be opened.
Despite the reservations, the proposal from Egypt and France could mark the first sign of a possible exit from 12 days of bloodshed in Gaza, accompanied by continued Hamas rocket fire on southern Israel.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 688 Palestinian since Dec. 27, including around 350 civilians, among them 130 civilians, according to Palestinian officials. (So is it 350 or 150 civilians? Make up your mind what lying figure you want to go with, guys.)
Israel says it has killed at least 130 Gaza militants (Big deal--130 dead terrorists.) since it launched its ground offensive Saturday. Ten Israelis have been killed during the offensive, including three civilians.
On Wednesday, 29 Palestinians were killed, including at least 22 civilians and two Islamic Jihad militants, medics said. In one incident, a family of four was killed in an airstrike on their car, medics said. (Like that's a credible source.)
Residents on the Gaza-Egypt border said Israel dropped leaflets in the area, urging them to leave, presumably because of planned airstrikes. (WTF? Telling the terrorists to leave because they are about to get bombed? And people wonder why I say Israel is trying to lose.) Israel TV's Channel 10 said residents were given until 8 p.m. to get out. Hamas has weapons smuggling tunnels in the area, and Israel has already destroyed dozens of them in repeated airstrikes.
With the continued fighting, a truce deal still seemed distant. There are also wide gaps between the demands raised by Israel and Hamas.
Still, Israel was to send an envoy, senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad, to Cairo on Thursday to hear more about the French-Egyptian truce proposal, whose terms still remain unclear.
The plan calls for an immediate cease-fire by Israel and Palestinian factions for a limited period to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. It also calls for an urgent meeting of Israel and the Palestinian side on arrangements to prevent any repetition of military action and to deal with the causes.
In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Israel and the moderate Palestinian Authority, Hamas' rival, accepted the plan. However, the Palestinian Authority is not a direct party to the conflict.
Turkey has already been asked to put together an international force in Gaza, according to a Mideastern diplomat familiar with the country's efforts to end the conflict. He said the responsibilities of the force were yet to be determined. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, and Turkish officials would not immediately comment.
Hamas and Israel voiced reservations, and the Bush administration also withheld firm backing. "What we are seeking is a cease-fire that would actually last," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.
Still, Israel briefly suspended its offensive Wednesday to allow humanitarian supplies to reach Gaza, and Israeli officials said such lulls would be declared on a regular basis. (Chaim, I told you this would happen.)
The announcement came among growing warnings by the World Bank and aid groups of a humanitarian crisis. The Word Bank said there is a severe shortage of drinking water and that the sewage system is under growing strain.
During Wednesday's lull, Israel allowed in 80 trucks of supplies as well as industrial fuel for Gaza's power plant. Medics tried to retrieve bodies in areas that had previously been too dangerous to approach.
Medic Mohammed Azayzeh in central Gaza pulled out three people, killed by shrapnel fire Sunday, from the border town of Mughraqa, where Israeli tanks had settled nearby. The medic said he also found a family
Ambulance sirens wailed as drivers rushed to the border crossing with Egypt to evacuate the wounded during the relative drop in violence.
Despite the new cease-fire efforts, Israel's security Cabinet decided Wednesday to push ahead with the offensive, according to participants who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to discuss the content of such meetings.
The military has called up thousands of reserve troops that it could use to expand the Gaza offensive, supporting the three brigade-size formations of regular troops now inside.
Defense officials said the troops could be ready for action by Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the army's preparations are classified.
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas representative in Lebanon close to the group's leadership in Syria, told al-Jazeera television that Hamas will not accept any initiative that does not include the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and the opening of all of the territory's border crossings.
"Any proposal that does not include these bases is unacceptable and no one should bother by presenting such proposals," he said.
"The idea of an international force is rejected and such forces which will come to Gaza to protect Israel will be dealt with as enemy forces," he said. (Yeah, like any "international force" has ever protected Israel, lol.)
Israel carried out 40 airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday, the army said. (Too bad 39 of them were on empty buildings.) An Israeli combat officer, identified as Lt. Col. Amir, said troops neutralized hundreds of explosives devices, including booby-trapped houses, and discovered many tunnels dug by militants.
Despite the army's push, Gaza militants fired 14 rockets Wednesday, including hits on the towns of Beersheba and Ashkelon.
Rocket fire has fallen off somewhat as Israeli troops tighten their hold on Gaza, taking over open areas used to launch rockets, but Gaza residents say militants are still launching from heavily populated areas. (Newsflash, the residents are the "militants".
___
Friedman reported from Jerusalem.
Chaim, I told you that this exactly would happen. Olmert had no intention of winning or even hurting Hamas for a while. Everything that has happened only has proven my hypothesis. Israel bombs a bunch of empty buildings, the missiles continue to be fired from Gaza of course, the international community imposes a cease-fire that the Israeli gov't accepts enthusiastically, Olmert declares "success" against Hamas but simultaneously tells the people that this "proves" that they cannot stop the rocket fire, and starts readying the Israeli public for a new round of concessions. This time though, they are going to have to not just accept a PLO state in general, but a Hamas state.
Get ready for massive new amnesties for Hamas and the transfer of hundreds of thousands of weapons to Hamas so that they can be "peace enforcers".
Trust me, it will get much worse. And that was Holemert and Bara[c]k's intention all along. And the stupid Israeli people will go along with it as always.
Chaimfan
Topic: Booo: I TOLD YOU all Israel does not want to defeat Hamas (Read 848 times)