23 December 2008 - 10H51
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Hamas says it may consider new truce with Israel
Senior Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar said that Hamas would consider renewing a six-month truce if Israel respects ceasefire conditions which include lifting the blockade of the Palestinian enclave and stopping military raids on the besieged territory.

AFP -  A tense calm reigned over the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the Palestinian Islamist group said it might be willing to agree to a new truce with Israel.
  
Gaza militants were holding their fire and Israeli forces were not carrying out raids on the territory after Hamas announced on Monday that it would not launch rockets or fire mortars for 24 hours.
  
Senior Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar told AFP that the movement could consider extending the temporary lull and agreeing to a new long-term truce, following the expiry on Friday of a six-month ceasefire.
  
Hamas is ready to renew the truce "if Israel respects the conditions of a ceasefire," he said.
  
These include lifting the blockade of the Palestinian enclave and stopping military raids on the besieged territory, the stronghold of the Islamist movement considered a terror group by Israel and the West.
  
"We demand that Israel respect truce conditions... in particular that it stop all form of aggression and open the border crossings," said Zahar, one of Hamas's most hardline leaders.
  
His comments came two days before Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was due to travel to Cairo for talks on the situation in Gaza with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
  
Egypt mediated the six-month ceasefire that has just ended. Largely violated by both sides for more than a month, its expiry on Friday ushered in two days of escalating violence and bellicose rhetoric.
  
As the military carried out air strikes and Palestinian militants fired rockets, Israel threatened to launch a major offensive on Gaza and Hamas warned that it would respond by resuming suicide attacks inside the Jewish state.
  
The overcrowded and aid-dependent land of some 1.5 million people has been subject to Israeli blockade and repeated raids since 2006, when Hamas won parliamentary elections and later participated in a deadly cross-border raid in which militants seized an Israeli soldier, who is still being held.
  
Israel cut off much movement of goods and people in and out of the territory in June 2007 after Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, seized Gaza by ousting forces loyal to secular Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
  
Aid groups have repeatedly appealed to Israel to lift its restrictions -- which at times have seen Gaza sealed off completely -- to avoid a humanitarian crisis in the overcrowded territory where most of the population depends on foreign aid.
  
Coming less than two months before snap elections set for February, the latest developments around Gaza pose a dilemma for the Israeli leadership.
  
In public comments, officials have called for major military action in response to continuing rocket fire and have vowed to topple Hamas.
  
But in private there is little enthusiasm for a major offensive, for fear that voters will punish politicians at the ballot box if a military operation fails to score a decisive victory against Hamas, observers say.

Comments (29)

Gaza crisis

If I were The IFD or MFA for Israel I would only accept Unconditional Surrender from Hamas. Then work on a Peacable Charter with the Citizens of Gaza.

a ceasefire,or truce when it benifits you is inly a ploy!

As long as there is rocket fire upon innocent people during a agreed upin truce, How can that same violator
demand another on it's terms? Hamas cannot have it's cake and eat it too! Collateral damage bleeds red on both sides of the fence. Jewish children have died. Women have died. Life of Jews are as worthwhile as that of
the Arab. Let us condemn cowardness,and craziness! There is simply no such thing as I will try and kill you
for being you, and you stand still and die without a fight. You are free to be whatever you wish to be as far as
religion is concearned. We will not force what we are upon you, and you are free to prosper and be in good health even as you soul should prosper.
You do not have the rigth to condemn me as a person let alone as a nation!!!!

miacle

yesterday while walking on the beach waiting for the sun to rise i asked god to show me a miracle so that i could believe. god appeared to me and said you ask me for a miracle i give you life and you ask me for a miracle.

Conflict in the middle east

is it not god who determines if one man is tall and the other short? we are not sure why god has done what ever he has decided to do. our only duty here on earth is to praise the all mighty for what he has chosen. the day will come when we will have to answer to god why we decided not to prasie him

Israel/Gaza

Glory be to Israel!!!

Iraelit invasion of Gaza

God bless Isreal and her people!!!

Israeli Gaza Conflict

Praise to Israel for defending itself and it's people. God Bless you and your soldiers. I pray you put down the MURDEROUS EVIL ANIMALS you are fighting. You have every justification for the invasions of Gaza.

Killing People

It's time that these people and everyone else to stop this Killing Why dose this do any good.I believe we all can get along people helping people,that's what this world is all about,it's not about killing or who has more power it's not who can kill more,and why do the kid's get hurt and poor family's they all seem to get killed for no reason at all.God would not like this at all so I hope you are all proud of yourself and you call yourself men go hom and take a good look in the mirror.JIM

hamas must be stoped

they say they want but send rockets. how can isreal let them do this and not do any thing about it. I am happy isreal is steping up and doing some thing they must take hams out they are bad people.

Religions of Violence Must be Eliminated

Any religion that teaches violence and retribution against those who do not believe as they do, must be stopped. Unfortunately, this means that it must be rooted out at the most basic core of support...the tainted children of these areas must be taken away from parents and / or organizations that that teach hatred of others. This is the only was to break the unending cycle of idiotic, crazy thinking that is so pervasive throughout the most radical elements of Islam. Education is the key. The sooner the world unites to make a concerted effort to root out terrorism wherever it is...yes...especially in Palestine, then this terrible repetetive chapter of history can be over. Although President George Bush has been unpopular for his middle east policy, his basic intent has been right on the mark. The war on terror must continue, and Bush will be vindicated by history, and the political pukes that represent the leftist power-hungry machine will have to eat their words. America and the world must unite to defeat the evil doers!

Accept Statehood or?

Radicals must be eliminated. Moderate, reasonable people who seek peace should settle an accord guaranteeing statehood and economic / political sovreignty for Palestine. The radicals are sadists, terrorists and anarchists. Rule of law must prevail. It is so unfortunate that the populace in these areas are living in fear of the ones that purport to fight for them. They are bullies...no better than the mafia organizations that once terrorized many countries around the globe. They fight not a religous war; they fight for their own power and control. Israel is justified in striking, as necessary. The USA and other peace loving nations of the world should join Israel to purge these agitators to drive them underground forever.

Israel

God Bless Israel! May God strike down the hand that attempts to destroy her!

objection of wars

what makes me sick is that the whole world objected israel's air strikes which are just a crime against humanity and they didn't give a damn they are just continuing the series of murdering the palestinian people and they must be punished for that...
hamas also must stop the rockets to stop the blood bleeding in ghaza

How killing is amazing

OOH World !
How much this world is becoming crazy.
How much this world is becoming unjust
When we call the thief as a businessman
and we call the murder as a peace maker
But you know what !
When death comes to me and you then we will face the Truth , the real truth.
Before this day comes, look deep in your soul and heart and ask yourself a sincere question.
What's the right path? why killing people to steal their land?
why am I created and what can I do for the mankind?

the present situation in gazza

the palestinian problem today is more complex than what it used to be 10 years ago...other elements have joined the party and have benifitted from the situation directly and indirectly...to resolve it we have to sell or buy the land from its owners...and move one of the two to another location.truthfully the land in question is not holy at all...ecause a holy land is where piece prevails and the energy of holiness changes the bad into a good....the power of god.i now we are away from the power of god since both sides are comitting crimes for the name of ethnic purity, and the right to land by religious and ancestry roots...if god was among them he or she would have resigned by now in shame and disgust...both parties concerned in the matter have innocent blood in their hands for generations, they are criminals by all means...and they are training their coming generatiopn to do the same to preserve their belief....if both parties moved on from their conflict they would have out sourced any country by now...ask yourself why? why does the israelis and the palestinians have become who they are...a powerful israel built from fear of being eraced from the planet, and still brings those elements in international discussion as of today for no reason than it works,m and the palestinians that position themselves as weak nation and use that to their advantage ...the world today does not care about the walls christ has touched prayed on an lectured in, because everyone knows the land of god is within you...and the rest is all material that is subject to erosion and age...holiness has not grown there to englobe any changes in the world, it has not done a thing...it only made humans fight humans for nothing they won't have anyway....so to both side stop playing the fools with the world,

the present situation in gazza

the palestinian problem today is more complex than what it used to be 10 years ago...other elements have joined the party and have benifitted from the situation directly and indirectly...to resolve it we have to sell or buy the land from its owners...and move one of the two to another location.truthfully the land in question is not holy at all...ecause a holy land is where piece prevails and the energy of holiness changes the bad into a good....the power of god.i now we are away from the power of god since both sides are comitting crimes for the name of ethnic purity, and the right to land by religious and ancestry roots...if god was among them he or she would have resigned by now in shame and disgust...both parties concerned in the matter have innocent blood in their hands for generations, they are criminals by all means...and they are training their coming generatiopn to do the same to preserve their belief....if both parties moved on from their conflict they would have out sourced any country by now...ask yourself why? why does the israelis and the palestinians have become who they are...a powerful israel built from fear of being eraced from the planet, and still brings those elements in international discussion as of today for no reason than it works,m and the palestinians that position themselves as weak nation and use that to their advantage ...the world today does not care about the walls christ has touched prayed on an lectured in, because everyone knows the land of god is within you...and the rest is all material that is subject to erosion and age...holiness has not grown there to englobe any changes in the world, it has not done a thing...it only made humans fight humans for nothing they won't have anyway....so to both side stop playing the fools with the world,

DENYING GOD GIVEN RIGHTS!!!!!

All you ever hear is that Israel has the right to defend its self but what about the Palestinians? What about there defense? How can anyone have the right to deny human beings clean water, foood, medical supplies, and a place to sleep? Palestinians are being MURDERED on a daily basis and all we ever hear is the Israel is Justified in doing so to defend themselves. Media only mentions that Hamas keeps firing rockets but they lack to mention that Israel is straving them to death, closing off every and any means of SURVIVAL. They are basically living in a open JAIL with no options at all. I can not understand how the world is only ASKING Israel to stop instead of DEMANDING it. Israel simply turns their face the other way as if no one is speaking. Tell the people in GAZA that are burying their CHILDREN of all ages what their kids did to ISRAEL to get them shot and MURDERED!!!!!! I had hope that our New President would make a change but i can tell from now he is on the same level with Israel considering his right hand man is a Israeli it would only make sense that he deny us Palestinians any rights just like the previous US President who promised us a Palestinian State which we have yet to see.

Israel is really Palestine!

First of all you took the land from these people! How would you like it if your home was taken away from you? Down on their knees? Isnt it better than bobbing your head facing a wall? lol Ironic, huh? Thats all you do is keep hitting your heads against a wall! You tried to take part of Egypt but you were unsuccessful! Then you tried to take part of Lebanon and still unsuccessful! Then with the Jews that control the American money you try and bully the smaller populated Palestinians! Then you wonder why there are suicide bombers and terrorists? We are approaching the year 2009 and you morons cant even co-exist! So you think the rest of the world doesnt see how you have been dividing and conquering these people and their Holy Land? All I can say is you Jewed them!

Truce with hamas

Amazing how hamas only understand strenght. Now on their knees, and not because it is prayer time, they suddenly ask for a truce which they previously rejected. What Chutzpah they have.. I say NO, let's get it over with once for all.. Destroy the hamas and the world will be a much better place to live in.

Gaza Reporting

This article fails to place the fighting in proper context. It fails to mention that Israel pulled out of Gaza two years ago, leaving green houses and other infrastructure for Gazans. The Gazans destroyed the green houses and replaced them with missiles, firing over 3,000 of them deliberately at civilian targets.

Israel wants no part of Gaza. It merely wishes to live in peace.The "raids" you speak of were in response to the missiles fired by Hamas and were directed at those who were firing them. There would be no war if Hamas was not firing missiles at Israel in support of its stated mission of destroying Israel.

Israel and the Palestinians

I have followed the plight of the Palestinian people for the past 25 years or so and I'm still amazed at our blind bias towards Israel. The Israeli army can shoot women and children in a field before they are even in their sights. They can drop bombs on civilians while they sleep. They can commit unlimited war crimes and never have to answer for their actions. They can kill journalists and human rights workers. They can ignore the UN and world protests. Israel is untouchable and I don't know why we allow it. The manner in which Israel treats the Palestinians is repulsive, yet Israel expects no violence from her Arab neighbors. Just lay down and die like dogs, that is what they expect from the Palestinians. If the Israeli army is trying to target only "terrorists" they need to do a ground assault, and face their enemy one on one. We all know this will not happen. They are cowards. It's much easier to drop bombs on civilians, so no Jewish blood will be spilled. This was evident in Lebanon. Americans have their faults, we are human, but we are not cowards. It is my hope that Barack Obama will reconsider giving billions of dollars to Israel to launch their destruction. We are set to give them another 30 billion within 10 years. The money should go for humanitarian aide to the Palestinians. That would do far more to promote peace in the region.

Hamas, using Tunnels

I think that if Hamas can smuggle missels and guns., they should also be used to smuggle food, and medical supplies, through these tunnels

Humanity lost

Is humanity lost in this world? Though I dont have much knowledge about Isreal Palestian conflict but I would like that everyone reads the stuff in attached link. It real provides few answers.http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

Hamas

Well Hamas sadly has put this on themselves and therefore on the Palestinian people. Until they choose to stop using terror as a means of control and fear and choose to relate humanely with Israel and others giving them the right to exist they will continue to be a terrorist organization not deserving recognition from democratic nations.

whimps

I hope hamas starts the suicide bombings again , jerusilum needs to be push into using the weapon that Jesus let us Christians have (nucular) then and only then can we have peace,

war

I hope the usa stays out of this war and lets the genders take care of this speck called gaza US had to do when we were bombed by japan , and when they are done in gaza , i hope they are smart enough to go after iran with a limited nuke stike on key areas the time has come to show the world that the us will fight hard agaist the jihad

Hamas

none

conflict in gaza

Imagine being fired rockets on you..hamas should be attacking the army of Izrael not it's people..Izraell is not attacking Palestine people..So when the Hamas attacks the people of Izrael no one cares and when Izrael takes action on Hamas Org.How can it be wrong.

GAZA

Why does the world not see and understnd that this is a retaliation for the bombs being sent over from Gaza. Why does the world not see that Hamas launch these misiles from inside Gaza then leave their civilians to be bombed killed, the Arab world does nothing to help their people, they just leave them to die, as did Yasir Arafat taking millions if not billions of $'s and putting into his own private accounts, and gave to his wife who fled to Paris, the Arab world needs to wake up and destroy Hamas and the terrorists so that the people can live their lives, there is enough money in the Arab world for all arabs.
Israel has the right to defend herself and people, as is the right of the entire human race

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