Palestinians, Israel agree to Gaza cease-fire
By Shawn Arnold,WNS Jerusalem Correspondent
JERUSALEM - A total cease-fire in Gaza began at 6 am local time Sunday after Israelis and Palestinian factions agreed on a proposal, authorities said Sunday. All Palestinian factions have agreed to stop firing rockets into Israel under a cease-fire agreement, according to Nabil Abu Rdaina, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government has agreed to withdraw troops from Gaza and cease military operations, said Miri Eisin, government spokeswoman."We think that there's the possibility of hope here," she said. "What we hope is that the violence itself will stop, and we'll be able to see a little bit of peace and quiet in and around the Gaza Strip."The agreement covers only Gaza, she said, and not the West Bank. Just before the cease-fire took effect, militants fired three rockets into Israel, according to Israel Defense Forces. No one was injured, but a building was damaged. Abbas called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to offer the cease-fire.
In the United States, a White House spokesman called the cease-fire a "a positive step forward." "We welcome the announcement," said spokesman Alex Conant. "We hope it leads to less violence for the Israeli and Palestinian people."Rdaina said, "We hope that this will be a good start to stop all the activities and to withdraw from Gaza as well from the Israeli troops." The firing of rockets into Israel has recently prompted Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Three such airstrikes occurred Saturday and early Sunday.
In one of the recent strikes, two people were killed -- one a member of the Palestinian National Guard and the second a militant from the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas, according to Palestinian security sources. In another strike, a Palestinian militant was killed and three others wounded, one critically, when a minibus was targeted east of Gaza City, Palestinian sources said. Hamas confirmed those in the bus were part of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigade. A third airstrike targeted a car near al-Azhar University in Gaza City, security sources said. The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted an aerial attack on a Hamas terror cell in the Sajaiya neighbourhood. It didn't provide casualty figures. The IDF said the cell was part of the group's weapons production division.
posted by wnsworld @ 6:26 AM
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