WITH ISRAEL threatening a harsh response to the ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza, Egyptian officials and Hamas representatives are reportedly close to agreeing details of a new truce, which could begin as early as Thursday.
At least four rockets and eight mortars were fired at southern Israel yesterday, lightly wounding a solidier and a civilian. Last night Hamas said that Israeli aircraft bombed one of its security targets.
Only two weeks after the end of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, the ongoing attacks are a major embarrassment for Israeli leaders who boasted that the 22-day war had restored Israel’s deterrence and brought quiet to communities close to the border.
This is exactly the scenario that the leaders wanted to avoid, particularly as Israelis go to the polls next Tuesday in a general election.
Outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert told the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that Israel will not allow the situation to continue. “If there is shooting at residents of the south there will be an Israeli response that will be harsh and disproportionate,” he warned.
The al-Arabiya satellite TV network reported yesterday that Egypt and Hamas are close to agreeing a new one-year truce that may begin on Thursday.
Under the terms of the deal, both Israel and Hamas will cease hostilities for 12 months, and the main border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will reopen at Rafah. Hamas has reportedly agreed to a Palestinian Authority presence at the Gazan terminal.
A Hamas delegation and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas will hold separate talks in Cairo today with Egyptian officials. Mr Abbas warned yesterday that the firing of rockets just gives Israel an excuse to escalate activity.
Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak spoke in favour at the cabinet meeting of the new Egyptian-mediated truce, telling ministers Israel should not sign an agreement with Hamas, but needs to speak in a more realistic way. “It will help us deal with the real challenges of the Middle East, rather than the reality as we imagine it to be,” Mr Barak said.
However, foreign minister Tzipi Livni argued that any arrangement with Hamas will grant the organisation legitimacy. She told ministers that Israel must restore its deterrence through military means.
The head of military intelligence, Maj Gen Amos Yadlin, briefed ministers that Hamas is observing a ceasefire, but is doing nothing to stop the smaller militias in Gaza from firing rockets.