WORLD / Middle East
Hamas, Fatah declare cease-fire
(AP)
Updated: 2007-01-30 09:43
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Warring Hamas and Faith factions in the Gaza
Strip declared a cease-fire early Tuesday in an effort to end factional
fighting that has left more than 60 Palestinians dead in the past two
months.
Palestinian girls attend a protest calling for an end to the internal
fighting between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza City , Monday, Jan. 29, 2007.
[AP]
The cease-fire was agreed at a midnight meeting between Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and a representative of Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah. Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas
said it would go into effect at 3 a.m. local time.
Zahar spoke after the meeting, flanked by Hamas and Fatah representatives
and by Egyptian mediators. As he spoke, gunfire and explosions could
still be heard in Gaza City.
Zahar said the agreement stipulated that all security forces must return
to their bases, that suspects in killings are to be handed over, and that
all hostages still being held - a number thought to be in the dozens -
are to be released.
Several earlier truce agreements aimed at stopping the internal
Palestinian bloodshed, raging fitfully since early December, have broken
down.
Fatah spokesman Maher Mekdad said his group would observe the agreement.
"Despite all the bitterness and sadness that we are feeling, we will work
to make it succeed," he said.
The agreement between the Palestinian factions came as a two-month truce
between the Palestinians and Israel in Gaza was jeopardized by a
Palestinian suicide bombing, the first since April, 2006. The bomber, a
21-year-old from Gaza, struck the Israeli resort city of Eilat, killing
three people and himself.
The two radical groups that claimed to have sent the bomber said they
were trying to end Palestinian infighting by taking aim at Israel instead.
Hamas , which controls the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet, praised
the attack as legitimate resistance, and Israel hinted that a military
response was being considered.
"This is a grave incident, it's an escalation and we shall treat it as
such," Defense Minister Amir Peretz said.
Top World News
� Iraq: 300 insurgents killed in battle
� Clinton: Iraq war Bush's responsibility
� Report: N.Korea nuclear talks to resume Feb.8
� Anti-war protesters demand Iraq pullout
� Japan's defence minister chides US again
Today's Top News
� Earthquake-hit cable link 'restored'
� House prices 'harm building of harmony'
� Scholars renew secession warning
� New science policy welcomes business
� Migrant workers 'have 20m' kids back home
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Learning Chinese, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment