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| Middle East |
| Hamas to halt martyrdom attacks if Israel withdraws from territories |
| 2002-11-16 |
| Hamas said following talks in Egypt it would halt suicide attacks in Israel if the army stopped its raids, in a rare indication that the radical Islamic group was ready to reconsider its position. Either that, or it's an indication Hamas doesn't like the IDF going after them in their holes in Gaza... However unrealistic Hamas' demands are — Israel has consistently refused a deal which does not include its citizens in the occupied territories — the army acknowledged that the simple fact the radical movement sat down in Cairo to discuss a ceasefire with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah was a positive sign. It's a sign what the IDF is doing is working... A senior Hamas official said today that his group would stop suicide bombings in Israel if the army "puts an end to incursions into the West Bank and Gaza, arrests and the killing of civilians. "Only if Israel complies with those demands, will we agree to stop our operations." "Go ahead. Trust us. Give up something strategic and wait for us to keep our word..." A Fatah source said an Egyptian proposal providing for an end to "suicide operations inside Israel and attacks against civilians for several months," had been discussed there and endorsed by Arafat's faction. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said "Hamas promised to study the document." "Mahmoud, go through this a get back to me with a list of loopholes and obfuscations by Wednesday!" "Hokay, Sheikh!" He did not specify whether the term "civilian" included Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, whom Palestinian groups often describe as legitimate targets, together with soldiers, in their struggle against occupation. But the Hamas official said the proposal had been only verbal and that his group would release a written statement "only if Israel stops its incursions, arrest and the killing of Palestinians civilians." As anybody who's ever had anything to do with the government knows, if it's not on paper, it didn't happen. And even then there are doubts... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 The operative terms is "...for several months." They want time to rebuild for a counterstrike to be timed along with an Invasion of Iraq. As for the IDF stopping attacks against palestinian civilians: They've never attacked civilians. They've been attacking terrorists who hide behind civilians. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2002-11-16 13:18:17 |