by Mark Tran
Hamas said today it is prepared to accept a partial truce that would cover
only the Gaza Strip, in an apparent softening of the Islamist group's
position.
Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas spokesman, said the proposal had been relayed to
Egyptian mediators. The apparent shift in Hamas's position came amid reports
that Egypt has brokered a preliminary agreement on a truce between the group
and Israel.
In the past, Hamas has demanded that the West Bank - which is under the
control of its Fatah rivals - be part of any deal. In return, Hamas wants
Israel and Egypt to open their border crossings with Gaza. Israel and Egypt
have both largely sealed their borders with the territory since Hamas
wrested control from Fatah last June.
Israeli sources credit the turnabout in Hamas's position to the economic and
military pressure on Gaza, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. It said
senior Israeli officials had noted a change in Hamas positions in recent
days, at least in seeking a lull in fighting in Gaza. But Israel has yet to
commit itself officially to a ceasefire and is waiting for a detailed
proposal to be delivered via Egypt. . . .
FULL TEXT
Stephen Lendman, "Forty Years Of
Israeli Occupation," sjlendman.blogspot.com, May 23, 2007
Shawn Pogatchnik, "Carter Blasts US
Policy on Palestinians," Associated Press, June 20, 2007
Allegra Stratton, "Israel
rejects Gaza ceasefire," Guardian, April 25, 2008
Bassem Naeem, "Hamas condemns the Holocaust,"
Guardian, May 12, 2008
[The Israeli government officially recognized a precursor to Hamas called
Mujama Al-Islamiya, registering the group as a charity. It allowed Mujama
members to set up an Islamic university and build mosques, clubs and
schools.--Andrew Higgins, "How Israel Helped to Spawn
Hamas," Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2008]