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Militant rocket fire into Israel casts shadow on future of cease-fire
 Militants fired five homemade rockets into Israel Friday, a day after the Palestinian government offered to renew a cease-fire. Hamas announced Thursday it was ready to restore a February 2005 cease-fire that broke down last week after a beach explosion killed eight Palestinians. A Hamas official said the group also was working to stop the daily rocket barrages against Israel.Differences over the truce offer, which was conditional on Israel stopping raids and air strikes in Gaza and the West Bank, could point to disagreement between the Hamas grassroots and the government over tactics. "We are not interested in making any offers or proposals," Sami Abu Zuhri, official spokesman for the Hamas movement, said. "When the occupation stops its killings and crimes against our people then the factions may look into the issue in accordance with the interests of our people," he said. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the Islamic Jihad group both rejected the government's truce offer. Israel had its own conditions for a truce. "If it is quiet, we will answer that with quiet," said Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry. But violence quickly resumed. Late Thursday, an Israeli aircraft attacked a group of militants on the Gaza-Israel border. The military said the militants were trying to plant bombs. Palestinian hospital officials said the bodies of two Islamic Jihad militants were recovered. Sources identified the dead as Mohammad Abu Tanjara, 22, and Salam Abu Zubeida, 23, both from Islamic Jihad. Militant groups loosely linked to Fatah claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. Posted by: Fred 2006-06-18 |
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