MIDDLE EAST:ISRAELI LEADERS decided yesterday to give an Egyptian-mediated truce proposal with Hamas time to succeed, but said that the military would continue to prepare for an invasion of the coastal strip in the event that the push for a ceasefire failed.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for prime minister Ehud Olmert, said the security cabinet had decided "to support Egyptian efforts to achieve calm in the south and end the daily targeting of Israeli civilians by the terrorists in Gaza".
But, he added, ministers had also "instructed the military to continue its preparations in the unfortunate event that the Egyptian track should prove to be unsuccessful".
On the ground, the violence continued yesterday with three Palestinians, including a nine-year-old girl, killed in an Israeli strike. The army said that a raid had targeted militants planning to fire rockets into Israel.
Egypt has been trying to mediate a truce for several months and recently persuaded militant factions in Gaza to agree to a cessation of hostilities.
Israeli leaders, fearing that Hamas will exploit a truce to further arm itself, have procrastinated in recent weeks and have been contemplating a major operation in Gaza. But it appears that most ministers, including Mr Olmert and defence minister Ehud Barak, were concerned that if the government rejected the Egyptian truce proposal, it would be blamed for the escalation in violence that would inevitably follow.
By accepting the truce, they believe, Israel will have a stronger case when it falls apart and they launch a major operation in Gaza.
According to the truce proposal, there will be a mutual cessation of hostilities, with Israel ending its operations against militants in Gaza and Islamic militants in the coastal strip halting the daily firing of rockets into Israel.
If the truce holds, Israel will then progressively begin to lift the siege it imposed on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the strip in June last year.
This would include the reopening of border crossings and an increase in the flow of goods into the strip. Israel also hopes that a truce will help advance negotiations over the release of Cpl Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who for the last two years has been held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas officials criticised the decision by the security cabinet. "The Israeli occupation itself says it is preparing a large operation in Gaza, which demonstrates that its declarations on a truce are neither realistic nor serious," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman.