Militants from Fatah agreed to abide by a ceasefire in attacks on Israelis after Hamas and Islamic Jihad had agreed to do so. "We announce...our commitment to the truce as stated in the Egyptian initiative," said a Fatah statement, referring to Egypt's mediation of ceasefire talks. The announcement was issued after the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups announced a three-month suspension of attacks on Israelis. A senior Fatah official says all groups in the faction, including its military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, "abide by this position". Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi says the ceasefire will only hold if Israel stops its action against Palestinians. "If the Israelis will not stop aggression to Palestinians by all means, then Hamas and Jihad Islamic will consider Israelis aggressors who violate the initiative and then we will respond," he said.
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Some Israeli officials have criticised the ceasefire, many wanting to see the Palestinian Authority disarm militants such as Hamas. Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir has gone so far as to call it a "trap" for Israel. |