Hamas says willing to accept 6-month truce
Hamas is willing to observe a temporary truce in hostilities with Israel that would begin in Gaza and last for six months, this after all other Palestinian armed groups agree to the stated terms, top Hamas leader Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar said at a press conference in Cairo on Thursday.
Al-Zahar said that the lull must be "mutual and simultaneous and the blockade must be lifted and the crossing points opened, including the Rafah crossing point (between Gaza and Egypt)."
Egyptian Intelligence chief, Minister Omar Suleiman, has agreed to summon representatives from all other Palestinian factions to discuss the proposed truce next Wednesday including Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Hamas would also send delegates on its behalf. It remains unclear if Fatah will partake in the meeting. Suleiman will then set the date for the official commencement of the agreement, al-Zahar said.
Posted by: Fred 2008-04-25 |