Hamas Leader Appeals For Truce With Israel
GAZA CITY, Gaza City - On Islam’s most important holiday, the leader of Gaza’s Hamas government appealed today for a ceasefire with Israel and said his people - battered by Israeli military strikes and international sanctions - are greeting this year’s feast with “tears in our eyes.”
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s spokesman said there could be no deals with Hamas until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel, though one cabinet minister said Israel might consider outside mediation with the Islamic militants.
Israel and Hamas have never had direct contacts because of the group’s violently anti-Israel ideology. But they have agreed to short truces negotiated by third parties.
The appeal from Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the Hamas government in Gaza, came in a phone call to an Israeli TV reporter, said Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu. It followed a two-day air assault by Israeli forces that killed 12 Gaza militants, two from Hamas and 10 from Islamic Jihad.
Israel “should stop its attacks and siege,” Nunu said. “Then a truce would be possible, and not unlikely.”
Hamas officials said they were working with other militant groups to try to stop the rocket fire into Israel and also sent overtures to Israel through unidentified third parties.
Olmert’s office would not confirm that such messages had arrived. His spokesman, Mark Regev, said there would be no negotiations until Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces violence and accepts existing peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. The Islamic militant group has never agreed to those conditions.
On Tuesday, Olmert said the war against militants would not end and its leaders were in Israeli cross-hairs. “We will get all those who are responsible for firing rockets,” he said.
Israel’s president, Nobel Peace laureate Shimon Peres, released an unusually harsh statement opposing talks with Hamas. He called the Hamas overture “a pathetic attempt to deflect world attention away from the crimes of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”
But cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz, a former army chief and defence minister, took a more conciliatory view.
In an interview on Israel Army Radio, he said Israel might consider indirect contacts with Hamas to end the fighting.
As long as rocket attacks persist, Israel will not “for even one hour” let up its attacks on Gaza militants, Mofaz said. But “mediation is something we can think about,” he added.
At least one other cabinet minister supports contacts with Hamas, but a clear majority, including Olmert, is opposed.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said Hamas has not approached his group about a ceasefire.
“This is not a time for truce,” he told The Associated Press. “We have to inflict revenge upon this criminal enemy.” Israel’s air assault was the most punishing since Hamas overran Gaza in June.
After the Hamas takeover, Israel closed the borders to all but minimum essentials, and Egypt also shut its only crossing with Gaza. The result has been further hardship for the poverty-stricken territory.
Speaking at a sparsely attended Wednesday prayer gathering at a Gaza soccer stadium for the beginning of the Eid al-Adha festival, Haniyeh blamed Israel for the sour atmosphere, referring to Israel’s latest air assault.
“The Palestinians greet the feast differently from the other Muslim nations - with martyrs, with members of resistance dying, because of the crimes of the Zionist occupation,” he said. “We greet it with tears in our eyes and sadness in our hearts.”
The Eid al-Adha festival commemorates the ancient story of Abraham and his readiness to sacrifice his son, rendered in the Qur’an as Ishmael, as an act of obedience to God, who provided a lamb to be offered instead. Main features of the holiday are slaughtering animals and giving gifts, but both have been curtailed this year because of shortages caused by the tight cordon around Gaza.
Outside their home in the upscale Gaza City neighbourhood of Rimal, the Hamad family gathered to slaughter a cow after prayers, using a small crane to lift the 400-kilogram animal. One-third of the meat is traditionally distributed to the needy.
Although he paid 25 per cent more for the cow than in the past, Alaa Hamad said he will give out more than the required third to poor neighbours. “Poverty now is a general phenomenon,” he said.
Umm Ahmed Abu Assem, 50, said she had to sell her gold bracelet for $220 to buy her children a sheep to slaughter. “There is so much shortage as it is,” she said.
People were trying to make do with what they have, substituting traditional feast staples with local goods. Chocolate has not been coming in, so strawberries, abundant in the market because of an export ban, featured high in holiday handouts.
© 2007 Associated Press
Funny how Israel will not accept any peace overtures from Hamas. And this is not the first time. This was offered when hamas won the elections also. And they git bombed for it.
If Israel chooses to negotiate, then they are the ultimate losers. The irony here is that ISrael does not recognize Palestine but want Palestinians to recognize Israel.
Israel is using Hamas as an excuse to go on stealing more lands. The pathetic excuse of a state known as Israel is nothing but a blood thirsty terroristic apartheid regime. And a racist one to boot!
Shame on Israel and the rest of the world who enables it or just looks the other way.
Shame on israel but shame on primitive religions for doing animal sacrifices.
Idiot Jews with their kosher slaughter(very cruel) and idiot muslims with their re-enactment of myth stories(oh yeah they distribute the meat–just like bullfights).
What can be more stupid than throwing rocks at a pillar that represents Satan.
Why not try to live a moral life and fight Satan that way?
Violent idiots.
kelmer, you are a bloody idiot too aren’t you? Do you eat meat? How do you think the cows are slaughtered when you go the meat in the supermarket? The Muslims don’t kill them like bullfighting in Spain. Sacrificial meat is mostly distributed to the poor. Not thrown away or discarded.
horrified:
You are correct about the killing of animals for meat ,most all cultures do this, with exceptions. The finer point that the writer was trying to make in my opinion is the demon ideology that organized religions use to immerse their followers into believing. I for one, who believes in a loving god, but detest organized religion, and blame them for most of the wars throughout time. The edicts that they expos that punish people who don’t believe the way they think. If we are to ever have peace in the world people will need to find god on their own, and not through the mouths of organized religion.
Kelmer writes: “Shame on Israel but shame on primitive religions for doing animal sacrifices.
Idiot Jews with their kosher slaughter(very cruel) and idiot Muslims with their re-enactment of myth stories”
And that makes you what?–the fool on the hill.
How did this become a story about meat?
The real problem is that here is Hamas, trying to move toward talks and away from violence, and Israel only shows them the back of her hand.
And also, why all the preconditions? “Recognize us, renounce violence, capitulate, kiss our feet, eat our feces, and then maybe we’ll talk.” There wouldn’t be anything left to talk about once all of Israel’s pre-conditions are met!
I think talks with Hamas could happen (which would be a good thing)if it weren’t for the Bush administration’s encouraging of the Israeli hardliners in their extremist approach.
The Indians are being slaughtered again
Israel is a terrorist state and has no right to exist
People fighting to get their land and their way of life back are “terrorists”
While the land thieving violaters of international law get the unquestionable backing of he United States
Hitler went nuts on Jews for much less than what AIPAC gets away with in the United States
Maybe the world will be a better place when corporations have finished turning the United States into a third world country, because as world leaders, we truly suck
zionist,
Your words of Hate condemns your cause.
You expose us to your sickness and then a false apology because we don’t support your insanity.
The Bible says that the King of Gaza helped Abraham get his family started…Abraham came from what is now Iraq.
But Keep up your hate, You are a great example for the world what a Zionist really stands for.
Keep it up zionist, Like I said you show what Zionism really is if you are really a Jew, I don’t really know… but you sure give the whole world reason to hate Jews.
According to the law of Israel, I am a Jew and if you ever want to show how tough you are you can reach me at Jimglover@verizon.net and you can vent your anger at me in a more intimate setting where you won’t have to show your insanity in public.
We don’t hate Jews here but You asshole, are a whole different matter.
Another TOP story the USA MSM IGNORES:
The whistle blower of Israel’s WMD Programs historic FREEDOM OF SPEECH TRIAL which began the same day as the Palestinian elections in Jan. 2006 and concluded in July 2007.
Mordechai Vanunu was sentenced to 6 more months in jail for the interviews he gave in 2004, after his release from 18 years in an Israeli jail for telling the world the truth that Israel had gone nuclear in 1986.
On January 8, 2008, Mordechai Vanunu’s appeal begins.
FREELY STREAMING on WAWA under “VANUNU ARCHIVES” top right of the WAWA Banner are uncensored video of Vanunu from 2005 and 2006 and this civilian journalists articles following this historic case:
http://www.wearewideawake.org
Zionist–It doesn’t bother you that you come off like a major nut-job? Please put down your hatred and bigotry and step away.
The gift of Israel was made to the Jews partly out of guilt and partly to get them out of the Communist Bloc. The trouble is, the land had already been promised to the Palestinians to buy their quiescence during WWII. They blame the Jews for being on “their” land, but so too Europe and the U.S. for the double-cross.
Instead of trying to exterminate each other, Israelis and Palestinians have to recognize that they belong together on this land, sharing power, sharing resources. Ultimately, there must be a one-state solution. Both sides must recognize each other’s right to exist, both sides must recognize Jerusalem as their single capital, Palestinians must renounce terrorism, and Israelis must renounce Zionism.
Mr. Olmert, tear down this wall!
So, the thing is, zionist– beneath all of the vehement hate speech, you raise interesting and pertinent points. The problem is that your posts are first and foremost inflammatory, and thus, entirely anti-productive.
Just as peace cannot be attained as long as there is dependance upon, power-struggles about, and human rights abuses for oil (land, water, etc.), constructive discussion cannot be attained through crazed malevolent speech/action.
“Oh sweet lovely girl” this is exactly it. Your belittling rhetoric rears its ugly head over and over– to what avail? To blow off steam? Okay, I get that. But listen, not everyone here is your enemy. It’s not black and white. It saddens me to see you (and many, many others) bring up pertinent points to only dash any hope of productive discussion with inflammatory bullshit.
Just because I point out the anti-productivity of noxious rhetoric should not immediately place me in the cute-naive-idealist pen. For the record, however, while “killing the world with kindness” seems like a childish shot-at-the-moon, I do contest that killing the world with violence is directly in the same vein.
zionist,
At least you know that your hate and anger is making you sick.
I hope you can get some help in Israel.
Zionist—permaculture is a good idea whose time has come. I looked it up and found that the idea began in Australia, with Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Their concepts have spread around the world and are the subject of continuing research and development, often through agricultural studies at universities. I didn’t see anything about an Israeli permaculture project, but seeing has how they have often pioneered in agriculture, I don’t doubt that they are working on this also.
So how does this tie in with the need to pummel a hapless and impoverished population into submission before their Jewish overlords? Why not just let them export their strawberries, olives, and whatnot so they can buy electricity and medicine from, say, Israel?
The so-called “Zionist” is mentally ill. Unfortunately, I think his soul-destroying sickness is shared by his fellow Zionist hatemongers. I hope readers will stay on point in responding to this article and not allow ourselves to be sidetracked by this vulgar person.
Don’t worry about Zionist getting health care, as Israel has free universal health
care. Yes thats right the nation that gets the most american tax dollars for “aid” has
better services for it’s citizens that the
american saps, sweating blood to pay for “aid” to poor little surrounded Israel.
Israel with nuclear weapons for how many decades now? Israel with their airforce, navy and army & tanks & Apache helicopters
and Palestine with what?
Homemade rockets and suicide belts.
Israel has no desire for peace, it constantly provokes Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iran, the only ones I never hear of the Israelis bombing or spying on & doing assassinations is Jordan.
Israel is a pariah and should be internationally shunned, boycotted & divested. They are murdering Palestinians with impunity and immunity daily ince at
least the election of Hamas, if not even the entire 60 years of occupation.
These radical murderous Zionists and neocons need to be charged with genocide, torture, & ethnic cleansing & tried in an international court of law. More than they allowed their victims of “targetted assassination.”