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PA official: Militants agree to halt attacks in Gaza Strip
Palestinian militants have agreed to halt a spate of mortar and rocket attacks on Israeli targets in and around the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Authority official said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Shimon Peres, speaking during a visit to Jordan, blamed Hamas for the recent outbreak of violence in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said Interior Minister Nasser Yousef had reached the deal in talks held since Friday to help preserve the ceasefire. Militants have been bombarding Israeli communities in and around the Gaza Strip, threatening a three-month ceasefire.
"Our brothers in Hamas reaffirmed their commitment to the quiet," Abu Khoussa said. Asked if Hamas had agreed to stop firing at Jewish settlements, he said: "Yes. They agreed not to do that."
"While we condemn the Israeli attacks on our territories, we believe no one should provide the Israelis with a pretext to continue and escalate these attacks," a Palestinian official said of Youssef's deal with the militants.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said the group was committed to the cease-fire but that "resistance operations will come in reaction" to Israeli violence.
On Saturday, Yousef toured the Khan Younis and Rafah areas of Gaza - some of the most violent spots in the coastal strip - and ordered his men to preserve the truce, Palestinian security officials said on condition of anonymity.
Peres: Hamas sparked Gaza fighting
Peres said Saturday that three days of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip was sparked by the radical Hamas movement and expressed hope that both sides would overcome the violence.
"It's a harassment. It was a protest by Hamas against the Palestinian Authority," Peres said of the flare-up. He said Hamas was apparently trying to respond to re-elections in certain Palestinian areas called for by the Palestinian Authority.
Asked how Israel will respond to the outburst, he said: "With great restraint."
Brushing off the latest agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the Israel Defense Forces will operate in any areas where there is violence.
"Any agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist organization is their business. Up until now we have seen what these agreements are worth. If there will be quiet we will respond with quiet. If there is fire ... of mortars and homemade rockets then we will respond in kind," Gissin said.
Abbas: Gaza violence subsiding
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that three days of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip is subsiding and won't dampen his first trip to Washington as leader of the Palestinians.
Abbas, fresh off a two-week trip to South America and Asia, was in Egypt to discuss with President Hosni Mubarak the Palestinian leader's May 26 meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. Violence has flared in Gaza in his absence, jeopardizing a February truce.
"The events are minor and they have calmed down," Abbas said of the Gaza fighting, in which militants have fired mortars and rockets at Jewish settlements and communities in and near the Gaza Strip. "I think that the situation has begun to come under control in Gaza. That's why this will not have any negative impact on my visit to America."
Israel has warned the February cease-fire is in danger of collapse and has threatened to retaliate if Abbas fails to rein in militants. The fighting could complicate Israel's plans to withdraw from Gaza this summer, though officials said the pullout would proceed no matter what.
Abbas said Hamas, a key Islamic militant group involved in the Gaza flare-up, is a player in the Palestinian political scene that cannot be dismissed.
"Hamas has now participated in the local council elections and has succeeded in some locations - and it will participate in the legislative elections and will become part of the political system," Abbas told reporters after his meeting with Mubarak. "No one can stop it if it succeeds (in these elections) from becoming part of this system."
PMO official denies Sharon-Abbas meeting
Israel denied statements made Saturday by Abbas that a meeting with Sharon will take place on June 7.
"The prime minister's bureau is interested in setting up such a meeting but no such meeting has been set for that date or any other date," David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, said.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, however, said Saturday the two sides agreed the leaders would meet sometime in June. He said the agreement was reached during a meeting with Sharon's top adviser Dov Weisglass.
A potential summit would be the leaders' second meeting and would follow Abbas' planned talks this Thursday with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/578586.html
Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said Interior Minister Nasser Yousef had reached the deal in talks held since Friday to help preserve the ceasefire. Militants have been bombarding Israeli communities in and around the Gaza Strip, threatening a three-month ceasefire.
"Our brothers in Hamas reaffirmed their commitment to the quiet," Abu Khoussa said. Asked if Hamas had agreed to stop firing at Jewish settlements, he said: "Yes. They agreed not to do that."
"While we condemn the Israeli attacks on our territories, we believe no one should provide the Israelis with a pretext to continue and escalate these attacks," a Palestinian official said of Youssef's deal with the militants.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said the group was committed to the cease-fire but that "resistance operations will come in reaction" to Israeli violence.
On Saturday, Yousef toured the Khan Younis and Rafah areas of Gaza - some of the most violent spots in the coastal strip - and ordered his men to preserve the truce, Palestinian security officials said on condition of anonymity.
Peres: Hamas sparked Gaza fighting
Peres said Saturday that three days of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip was sparked by the radical Hamas movement and expressed hope that both sides would overcome the violence.
"It's a harassment. It was a protest by Hamas against the Palestinian Authority," Peres said of the flare-up. He said Hamas was apparently trying to respond to re-elections in certain Palestinian areas called for by the Palestinian Authority.
Asked how Israel will respond to the outburst, he said: "With great restraint."
Brushing off the latest agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the Israel Defense Forces will operate in any areas where there is violence.
"Any agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist organization is their business. Up until now we have seen what these agreements are worth. If there will be quiet we will respond with quiet. If there is fire ... of mortars and homemade rockets then we will respond in kind," Gissin said.
Abbas: Gaza violence subsiding
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that three days of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip is subsiding and won't dampen his first trip to Washington as leader of the Palestinians.
Abbas, fresh off a two-week trip to South America and Asia, was in Egypt to discuss with President Hosni Mubarak the Palestinian leader's May 26 meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. Violence has flared in Gaza in his absence, jeopardizing a February truce.
"The events are minor and they have calmed down," Abbas said of the Gaza fighting, in which militants have fired mortars and rockets at Jewish settlements and communities in and near the Gaza Strip. "I think that the situation has begun to come under control in Gaza. That's why this will not have any negative impact on my visit to America."
Israel has warned the February cease-fire is in danger of collapse and has threatened to retaliate if Abbas fails to rein in militants. The fighting could complicate Israel's plans to withdraw from Gaza this summer, though officials said the pullout would proceed no matter what.
Abbas said Hamas, a key Islamic militant group involved in the Gaza flare-up, is a player in the Palestinian political scene that cannot be dismissed.
"Hamas has now participated in the local council elections and has succeeded in some locations - and it will participate in the legislative elections and will become part of the political system," Abbas told reporters after his meeting with Mubarak. "No one can stop it if it succeeds (in these elections) from becoming part of this system."
PMO official denies Sharon-Abbas meeting
Israel denied statements made Saturday by Abbas that a meeting with Sharon will take place on June 7.
"The prime minister's bureau is interested in setting up such a meeting but no such meeting has been set for that date or any other date," David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, said.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, however, said Saturday the two sides agreed the leaders would meet sometime in June. He said the agreement was reached during a meeting with Sharon's top adviser Dov Weisglass.
A potential summit would be the leaders' second meeting and would follow Abbas' planned talks this Thursday with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/578586.html
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IMC Network
Saturday May 21, 2005 11:01 AM
AP Photo NN102
By IBRAHIM BARZAK
Associated Press Writer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Hamas militant group has agreed to halt mortar and rocket fire on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, a deal meant to save a truce threatened by three consecutive days of violence, the Palestinian interior ministry said Saturday.
Hamas agreed to stop the fire at a late-night meeting on Thursday between Interior Minister Nasser Yousef and the Islamic group's leadership, said ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the fighting had subsided, and he didn't expect it to overshadow his meeting next week with President Bush.
Israel threatened harsh retaliation after the fighting erupted Wednesday, and warned the Palestinians that a cease-fire declared in February was in danger of collapse. Since Wednesday, Israeli troops have killed three Palestinian militants. Militants have fired 60 mortar shells and homemade rockets at Gaza settlements.
The violence erupted after a long spell of relative quiet in nearly five years of fighting, threatening Israeli plans to withdraw this summer from all the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
Hamas is challenging Abbas' ruling Fatah party in a parliamentary election scheduled for mid-July, leading Israeli security officials to speculate Hamas violence is meant to strengthen the group and embarrass Abbas ahead of the vote.
``Our brothers in Hamas reaffirmed their commitment to the quiet,'' Abu Khoussa said. Asked if Hamas had agreed to stop firing at Jewish settlements, he said: ``Yes. They agreed not to do that.''
Israel has accused the Palestinian Authority of not doing enough to stop the militants from firing at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. But earlier this week Hamas militants used fists, rocks and gunfire to prevent Palestinian police from deploying and preventing the rocket fire.
At Thursday's meeting, the sides discussed the incident. Hamas denied its people fired on troops, but witnesses confirmed there was gunfire.
On Friday, Yousef toured the Khan Younis and Rafah areas of Gaza - some of the most violent spots in the coastal strip - and ordered his men to preserve the truce, Palestinian security officials said on condition of anonymity.
``The events are minor and they have calmed down,'' Abbas said at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik. ``I think that the situation has begun to come under control in Gaza. That's why this will not have any negative impact on my visit to America.''
Brushing off the latest agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israel's army will operate in any areas where there is violence.
``Any agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist organization is their business. Up until now we have seen what these agreements are worth. If there will be quiet we will respond with quiet. If there is fire ... of mortars and homemade rockets then we will respond in kind,'' Gissin said.
Hamas - which made a strong showing in recent municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip - is expected to make more gains in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Abbas said Hamas is a political player that cannot be ignored.
``Hamas has now participated in the local council elections and has succeeded in some locations - and it will participate in the legislative elections and will become part of the political system,'' Abbas said. ``No one can stop it if it succeeds (in these elections) from becoming part of this system.''
Abbas stopped in Egypt Saturday at the end of a two-week tour of South America and Asia. Abbas discussed his upcoming trip to Washington with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and was to return to the Palestinian territories later in the day.
Abbas suggested he would meet Sharon on June 7, but the Israeli Prime Minister's Office denied a meeting had been scheduled.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5021348,00.html