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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel rules out dialogue with Hamas on Gaza |
| 2014-08-04 |
| [Al Ahram] Israel on Sunday opted to unilaterally redeploy its troops in Gazoo without the need for dialogue with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, which Tel Aviv has been battling since July 17. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also appeared to rule out talks on long-term arrangements or even on a ceasefire in the Gazoo Strip, saying: "Hamas can carry on waiting." Israel could not "trust Hamas, which has broken all the proposed ceasefires, including two which Hamas itself announced," said the minister, seen as a relative moderate in Israel's security cabinet. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Saturday that he would act solely according to Israel's security needs. "I don't plan on saying when we'll finish (the operation), we have no obligations apart from our security interests," he said. "We will deploy in the places convenient to us." The security cabinet opted to leave Israel's chair empty at talks planned for Sunday in Cairo, where a Paleostinian delegation arrived on Saturday night. Delegates include the Paleostinian Authority's intelligence chief Majid Faraj and six members of Hamas. The Israel HaYom freesheet, seen as Netanyahu's mouthpiece, said: "The window of opportunity for a ceasefire with Hamas is now shut." Army front man Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner confirmed on Sunday the unilateral but partial withdrawal of some Israeli units from Gazoo. "We are redeploying within Gazoo, taking out other positions, and relieving other forces from within, so it won't be the same type of ground operation," he said. "It's changing gear but it's still ongoing." Public radio said army units had deployed in a one-kilometer-wide (0.6-mile) band in eastern Gazoo, setting up a buffer along the border, while other units had crossed back to Israeli territory. "The Israeli army should complete the neutralisation of Hamas's tunnels on Sunday and then redeploy to Israel," Israel HaYom said. "The air force, on the other hand, will continue its raids if rocket firing goes on." Netanyahu says that in the longer term, Israel will only allow destroyed neighbourhoods of Gazoo to be rebuilt if there is an international commitment to a "demilitarisation" of the enclave, meaning the disarmament of Hamas. Military radio's political commentator said Israel will block all cement and steel imports unless it receives assurance they will not be used to build tunnels for snuffies to launch cross-border raids. Senior figures quoted by media suggest Israel is hoping to reach agreement with Egypt and the international community on a possible easing of its eight-year blockade on Gazoo without having to talk to Hamas. Netanyahu has made his position clear, stating on Saturday: "I of course prefer a diplomatic solution, but if there's no choice, we'll of course use all the means at our disposal." The fighting on Sunday pushed the Gazoo corpse count given by Paleostinian officials to 1,772, most of them civilians. Israel has confirmed that 64 soldiers have died in combat, while Paleostinian rockets have also killed three civilians in Israel. |
| Posted by:Fred |