Hamas fighters have not launched the most recent rocket attacks from inside Gaza and the movement may be edging towards a ceasefire agreement, according to Israeli security officials.By David Blair in Jerusalem
Last Updated: 4:36PM GMT 06 Feb 2009
Courtesy Of The TeleGraph
Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire on Jan 18 after fighting a 22-day war in Gaza which claimed about 1,300 lives. The aim was to stop Palestinian guerrillas from bombarding southern Israel – but at least 40 rockets and mortar bombs have been fired since the operation ended, with two exploding yesterday morning.
However, an Israeli security official acquitted Hamas of responsibility for the most recent attacks. "Our intelligence says it's not them," he said. Instead, other groups, notably Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and fighters linked to the supposedly moderate Fatah movement are thought to have launched these strikes.
Israeli officials disagree over whether Hamas, which still controls Gaza's government, is capable of stopping the attacks. Another senior official said that at present, with its organisation shattered by Israel's offensive, Hamas was probably unable to prevent other groups from firing rockets.
Also:
Hamas Official Blames Rockets On Collaborators
Courtesy Of The National Public Radio (NPR)
Listen Now [3 min 42 sec]
All Things Considered, December 29, 2008 · The rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel is the work of Israeli collaborators, says Ahmed Yusuf, political adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. He says Hamas was willing to agree to a new cease-fire with Israel, but Israel hadn't lived up to its end of the bargain.
(Because of intense interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, NPR makes available free transcripts of its coverage. View the free transcript of this story.)
No comments:
Post a Comment