JPost - Reg Req'd - hold the tap-tap surprise meter jokes - they don't work on this one or Chuck Taylor's ceasefires, OK? The odds are too long ;-)
Hamas and Islamic Jihad are expected to announce their acceptance of a conditional cease-fire with Israel. But a new obstacle emerged Sunday to concluding the deal, as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas' Fatah movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, both said they would not accept it.
the dreaded "breakaway factions"???
Consequently, the truce many not be announced on Sunday as expected. It was not clear whether such a delay would affect implementation of an emerging agreement for an Israeli troop withdrawal from the northern Gaza Strip. These problems are likely to be addressed at a meeting scheduled for later Sunday morning between US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem. Rice is also reportedly going to ask Israel to speed up the pace of removing illgal settlement outposts in the West Bank.
| Just a little stumbling block, not at all unexpected. That's why they have so many movements and factions. Hamas and IJ can "climb on board," but then al-Aqsa and PFLP can say, nope, not them. So then everything's put off, the bodies keep piling up, and the PA can "fix" things. Once they're on board, DFLP and Tanzim will absolutely refuse for some reason or other, and the bodies will keep piling up. By the time they're cajoled into joining in, Hamas will be bitching about Israeli "violations" and will ostentatiously go on the warpath. Drawn out long enough, and with enough vitriol dripped, the rest of the world will have forgotten what the original objective was and will be blaming Israel for not being "more understanding." |
Leaders of Hamas and Islamic confirmed over the weekend that they have agreed to a hudna (temporary cease-fire), expressing their hope that Israel would now halt its policy of assassinations, house demolitions, incursions and arrests, as well as the release all Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian sources said an official announcement of the cease-fire would be made simultaneously in Cairo, Ramallah and Gaza City. One source predicted the announcement would be made as early as Sunday. Nonetheless, it was still unclear whether all the armed groups would heed the call to suspend their attacks against Israel. The latest deal was worked out mainly by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in Syria and is said to be unacceptable to many of the groups' officials in the Gaza Strip, who for months have been announcing that they would not accept any cease-fire agreement. It was also unclear whether Fatah's armed wing, Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, would accept the deal. Fatah's political leadership has endorsed the cease-fire deal and pledged to support the Palestinian Authority in implementing it.
| "But what can we do? We can't control them. They're so angry and all the oppression..." |
A statement issued Saturday by the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades vowed to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel, saying members of the group would not abide by any cease-fire agreement. "No one consulted with us regarding the hudna," said the statement issued in the northern West Bank. "We reaffirm that the key to the cease-fire is in the hands of the fighters on the ground. We warn those who claim they are speaking on our behalf. Any attempt to bypass the Aqsa Brigades and the blood of its fighters is a dangerous illusion." The statement warned that no cease-fire agreement would succeed as long as Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is under siege in his headquarters in Ramallah and as long as the targeted killings and arrests are continuing. Fatah leaders in Ramallah said the statement does not reflect the opinion of the majority of the members of the armed group, pointing out that there are still a few Fatah elements, particularly in Nablus, Tulkarm and Jenin, who are completely opposed to the deal. In some refugee camps in the northern West Bank, gunmen belonging to Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they would continue to launch attacks against Israel regardless of the cease-fire agreement.
| "It ain't like the Paleostinian Authority has any authority, y'know?" |
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a statement in Damascus saying it would not join the cease-fire agreement. Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin announced on Friday that his movement has decided to stop its attacks against Israel for a limited period of time. "The movement studied the latest developments and decided to declare a cease-fire," the wheelchair-bound Yassin told journalists at his home in Gaza City. Muhammed al-Hindi, one of the top leaders of Islamic Jihad, confirmed that his group had also agreed to suspend its attacks against Israel. "We have accepted a conditional cease-fire for three months," he said. Hindi said representatives of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah faction were working out the final wording of an official cease-fire declaration. "I expect that it's going to be finished within 24 hours and after that it will be declared, if not tomorrow, the day after," he added.
| "Then we can proceed to ignore it and blame Israel." |
Hindi said the Islamic Jihad does not believe that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would honor the cease-fire deal. "Sharon only wants to rid himself of a certain crisis, and he's now in a crisis," he said. "He's now admitting that he can't defeat the Palestinian people with military force. Therefore I expect him to violate the agreement very soon by carrying out assassinations. Then we would be forced to respond."
Ahmed Ghnaim, a senior Fatah official who helped broker the cease-fire agreement, said in Gaza City Saturday night: "There is a consensus among the Palestinian factions on the issue of the hudna. There are no differences on this issue, although there are different views regarding the formulation [of the cease-fire announcement]. We are now holding last-minute discussions on the final wording of the agreement." The Palestinian Authority cabinet met in Ramallah earlier Saturday to discuss the details of the cease-fire agreement and the understandings reached with Israel over the IDF redeployment in the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem. As the meeting was under way, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in the center of Ramallah calling for the release of all prisoners from Israeli jails. Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas walked out to the protesters, grabbed a microphone and shouted: "There will be no peace and security as long as there is one prisoner behind bars." His declaration was received with thunderous applause.
Hope Condi handed out "special" cell phones so the Paleos could call in their reservations on the roadmap™ directly? heh heh |