Hamas: Israel has refused to respond to ceasefire offer Published yesterday (updated) 07/08/2014 21:20 GAZA CITY (Maan) -- Hamas on Thursday evening said that Israel had still not replied to its ceasefire offer and threatened that there would be an escalation in hostilities if Israel failed to do so, just over twelve hours before a three-day ceasefire was set to expire at 8 a.m. on Friday. The statements came after US President Barack Obama appeared to support Hamas demands for an end to the siege earlier in the day by saying that Gaza could not be isolated forever, while Israel refused to budge, leaving the threat of a return to hostilities Friday morning looming. Sources privy to the Cairo ceasefire talks, however, told Maan that a meeting would be held around 10:30 Thursday night between the Palestinian delegation and the Egyptian intelligence minister to give Palestinians the Israeli response to their demands. The Israeli delegation had met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon before returning to Egypt Thursday night. Sources said that there might be an inclination to extend the ceasefire for a further 72 hours for attempts to reach a lasting ceasefire to continue. Thousands rallied in the streets of Gaza City earlier on Thursday in support of the Palestinian delegation currently in Cairo trying to negotiate a long-term ceasefire with Israel. Marches called for by Hamas set off from different mosques across the Gaza Strip heading to the Palestinian Legislative Council, the equivalent of the parliament, while speakers urged the talks delegation to ensure that Gazans rights were guaranteed. We are here today united to show that we support the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, Hamas member of parliament Mushir al-Masri said, adding: We tell them to not return unless our conditions and demands have been accepted. We have won the military battle and with the permission of God well win the political battle, he said during the rally. Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Hamas-affiliated al-Qassam Brigades, said in a televised address Thursday night that the military wing had given the political leadership the opportunity to negotiate to stop Israel from hurting our people, but insisted that there would be no ceasefire unless Israel agreed to end the siege. Hamas has insisted that Israel end its eight-year siege on the Gaza Strip, release dozens of prisoners whom Israel has re-arrested that were released in 2011 as part of the Shalit exchange, the re-opening of a seaport and airport in Gaza, and the creation of a safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Al-Masri pointed out that the demands of Palestinians are their rights, calling upon Egypt and the Arab World to stand behind them in these demands. At the same time, al-Masri stressed that if Israel failed to respond and give Palestinians their rights, Hamas was prepared to continue fighting. Fighters still have their fingers on the trigger and their missiles targeted towards Israeli cities, he said. If Netanyahu does not accept our demands, you will not return to your homes, he added in a pointed statement to the residents of Israeli cities near the Gaza border that have been subjected to Palestinian rocket fire. Hamas demands are consistent with the terms of the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990s, but which Israel has failed to abide by amid its refusal to consider direct negotiations of any kind with Hamas, which it considers a terrorist group. Israel, meanwhile, has said that they would be willing to extend the ceasefire indefinitely but have also stressed that a long-term agreement should include the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. Hamas has scoffed at this demand, pointing out that it was Hamas fighters that had prevented the full-scale infiltration and re-occupation of Gaza by Israeli forces in recent days. Before the ceasefire, Israeli forces pulled out of major Gaza cities and redeployed hundreds of meters inside the border, although air strikes and shelling on Gazan cities continued. More than 1,886 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 10,000 injured in the month-long conflict. Figures released by UNICEF, the UN childrens fund, indicate that 73 percent of the victims - or 1,354 people - were civilians. Of that number, at least 429 were children -- around 30 percent of the civilian casualties. maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=718980
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:59:35 +0000
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