Hamas Says No Truce With Israel
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hamas Says No Truce With Israel*
By DIAA HADID
The Associated Press
Saturday, May 26, 2007; 7:27 PM
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Hamas hardened its stance on Saturday after a
new barrage of Israeli airstrikes killed five militants, saying it would
not consider a truce and calling for more attacks on Israel.
The Islamic militant group also warned Israel that if it continued its
10-day air assault, it would threaten the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit,
the Israeli soldier nabbed last June by Hamas-linked militants. Shalit
has not been heard from or seen since his capture.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate from the rival Fatah
faction, has tried in recent days to revive a cease-fire with Israel.
Under his plan, Gaza militants would halt rocket fire for a month to
allow for negotiations on a more comprehensive truce that would include
the West Bank.
After a meeting late Friday, the militant groups initially asked for 48
hours to consider the proposal and respond.
But after the rash of new air attacks Saturday, including five in less
than an hour, Hamas called on its fighters to "direct painful strikes at
the Zionist enemy." Hamas "will not offer a free truce to the Zionist
occupation," the group said.
"If there is an end to the attacks, we can talk about a truce," said Abu
Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing.
He said Shalit's freedom was in danger, but not his life.
"The enemy knows that getting Shalit back is in our hands," he said. "It
would be a dream" that Hamas would release him while attacks continued,
he added.
Israel has launched dozens of targeted missile strikes over the past 10
days that have killed 48 Palestinians and damaged many Hamas
installations in an attempt to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza at
Israeli border towns.
Israel said some 225 rockets have landed in Israeli towns since May 15,
killing one woman and sending thousands of frightened Israeli residents
fleeing. Two rockets landed in Israel on Saturday, including a direct
hit on a home in Sderot. No one was injured.
In all, Israeli aircraft launched 14 missile strikes Saturday. Before
dawn, they struck near the house of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of
Hamas in a Gaza refugee camp, while troops in the West Bank arrested a
Hamas Cabinet minister.
There was also a rare incident of violence in East Jerusalem late
Saturday when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an Israeli security
patrol near the separation barrier Israel is erecting along Jerusalem's
municipal boundary.
Israeli border police at the scene fired at the attackers, killing both
of them. Israeli emergency services said two Israelis were injured and
evacuated to hospital. An offshoot of the violent Al Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigade, which is affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the
shooting, according to the Palestinian news Web site Maan.
One of the Israeli airstrikes hit a key Hamas base in Gaza City, killing
five Hamas members and wounding four. The compound was used as a
training center and base for Hamas' militia, the Executive Force. Two
rooms in the camp were destroyed and rescue workers searched the rubble.
A nearby charity was badly damaged from the strike. Hamas gunmen shot in
the air to disperse a crowd of onlookers.
Earlier Saturday, two missiles hit close to Haniyeh's house in the Shati
refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City. One landed around 100 yards
away and the other 300 yards away, hitting trailers used by Haniyeh's
bodyguards.
"This is a critical stage," said Haniyeh in a statement hours after the
strike. "The aggression will not achieve its goal, but will lead to more
disturbance and will have serious consequences."
The army confirmed the Shati strikes but said Haniyeh was not a target.
In a rare appearance, Abu Obeida al-Jarrah, the chief commander of the
Executive Force, said Israel's targeting of its bases was "a declaration
of war" in coordination with its "agents" in Gaza Strip. Hamas has
accused members of its rival Fatah of serving Israel's interests.
Michael C. Williams, the U.N.'s new envoy to the Middle East, met
Saturday with Abbas in Gaza.
"I'm very troubled by the level of violence here," he said. "I think the
U.N., the international community in general, have been very concerned
about the level of intra-Palestinian violence, but also by the Israeli
attacks which I know have caused civilian deaths, considerable numbers."
In the West Bank, Israeli troops arrested Hamas Cabinet minister Wasfi
Kabaha. The arrest came two days after a sweep in which more than 30
Hamas politicians, legislators and local council members were arrested,
including the education minister.