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It's Back! And better then ever! Trucefire™!!
AFP: 2/2/07, 14:40. Somebody put it on the stopwatch.GAZA CITY (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and exiled Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal declared a ceasefire between their feuding factions in the Gaza Strip after internecine violence killed 25 people in just 24 hours. Oh, wait a minute... Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, unknown gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of the Egyptian envoy to the Gaza Strip, who has been at the heart of mediation efforts between Abbas's Fatah and the ruling Hamas faction. There were no injuries in the incident which cast doubts on the chances of the ceasefire, which came three days after the declaration of another truce. Nah, c'mon guys. Give it a chance. This could be the one... "President Mahmud Abbas and Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal held a phone conversation this evening and agreed to make an effort to end the fighting," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. Howda we evah get this far... The two leaders also agreed to meet in the Muslim holy city of Mecca next Tuesday on the initiative of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, he added. Oh. Mecca. That should solve everything. Nizar Rayan, a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that "Abbas and Meshaal reached an agreement between Fatah and Hamas on an immediate ceasefire." Peace in our lunchtime. At least they can maybe put the fires out. Black smoke billowed into the sky from Gaza's Islamic University on Friday after the Hamas bastion was stormed overnight by Abbas's presidential guard and gunfire and mortar attacks erupted across the territory, also spreading to the West Bank. Masked fighters from Hamas and Fatah roamed the largely deserted streets to the rattle of gunfire as representatives of the rival parties met in Gaza City. The presidency blamed Hamas for the violence amid increasing international pressure on the factions to resolve their differences and negotiate a power-sharing agreement. Fatah, moderate and secular, and Hamas, radical and Islamist, have tried for months to form a national unity government™ acceptable to Western donors in the hope of ending a crippling aid freeze. Hamas has steadfastly rejected Western demands that it renounce violence and recognise Israel and past peace deals. Should we set the over/under?
Posted by: tu3031 2007-02-02 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=179407 |