Ismail Haniyeh
Photo: Reuters
Haniyeh: Ceasefire must include West Bank
As Egypt awaits Hamas' response to offer for truce with Israel, group leader hardens positions
A day before delivering Hamas' officially response to the Egyptian ceasefire offer, group leader Ismail Haniyeh hardened his positions Wednesday.
Israeli officials have strongly rejected a truce with Hamas in the West Bank at this stage. A Hamas
delegation headed by Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar and Said Siam recently returned to Egypt following a two-day visit to Damascus, where they met with the movement's leadership.
Speaking in Gaza, Haniyeh said that should a truce be reached with Israel, it would bind the parties both in the Strip and in the West Bank. The talks mediated by Egypt currently focus on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip only, as a first stage.
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Egypt is awaiting Hamas' response to the truce offer. Should the answer be positive, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman will visit Israel next week.
According to Haniyeh, "The truce, should it be accepted by Israel, must be reciprocal and comprehensive – both in Gaza and in the West Bank. The mechanism for implementing the ceasefire depends on halting the aggression, lifting the blockade and opening the crossings. The ball is now in Israel's court."
Haniyeh reiterated remarks made Monday by Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, stressing that his movement would not recognize Israel.
Speaking at the reopening ceremony of a children's hospital in Gaza, Haniyeh said that Hamas is ready to recognize a diplomatic agreement to establish a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, which would include the refugees' return."
Meanwhile Wednesday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said that "a ceasefire in Gaza will be declared very soon. We are very close to calling a truce which will cease the rocket fire on Israel, the Israeli strikes and the Gaza siege."
