Hamas' Mashaal says group will not renew truce with Israel
Exiled leader says Islamist group won't renew ceasefire after its scheduled end date later this month, but Hamas spokesman says no final decision reached. Official in Jerusalem: 'If there is fire from the other side, it will not be one-sided'
The Palestinian group Hamas will not renew a six-month old truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip that expires later this month, said a statement issued by the group in the Syrian capital on Sunday.
"There will be no renewal of the calm after it expires," the statement quoted Khaled Mashaal, the Islamist group's exiled leader, as telling a Hamas television station.
However, shortly after Mashaal's statement was published, Hamas spokesman in Gaza Iman Taha said that prior to reaching a final decision on the matter the group's leaders would consult with the remaining armed Palestinian factions in the Strip.
Earlier, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, had addressed a rally of up to 200,000 supporters in Gaza. He accused Israel of violating the terms of the truce but did not say that Hamas would not renew the agreement made in June.
Responding to the statement issued in Damascus, a Hamas official in Gaza told Reuters the agreement will not be renewed automatically after Dec. 19 "and it will not be renewed as long as there is no real Israeli commitment to all of its conditions."
"There is nothing that encourages us to continue with a deal that did not achieve the results we hoped for," Osama al-Muzaini said.
But he stopped short of saying there would definitely be no renewal.
Israel supports continuation of ceasefire
Since early last month, sporadic violence has occurred along the Israel-Gaza border, with Israeli troops raiding the coastal enclave and Islamist militants firing rockets at Israel.
A diplomatic source in Jerusalem said in response to the statement, "If there is fire from the other side, it will not be one-sided."
The source further said, "Israel was willing to renew the truce agreement under the conditions of a complete ceasefire, but if this is not the case, Amos Gilad's mission to Cairo will make things clear."
Gilad, the head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, was expected to relay a message to Egypt that Israel supports the continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza - if Hamas adheres to the conditions.
Gilad will also seek to determine what progress has been made in the negotiations for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
The Defense Ministry stated that over the last week the artillery fired by terrorist organizations in Gaza has decreased, and that Hamas is assumed to support the extension of the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Roni Sofer contributed to the report
