Hamas Proposes New Ceasefire
15 June 2006
The militant Islamic group Hamas is calling for a new ceasefire with Israel.
Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the governing Palestinian group, said Thursday Hamas is seeking what he calls "quiet" and is ready to rein in militants firing rockets at Israel if Israel ceases its attacks on Gaza first.
The statement came as Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least five rockets into southern Israel, wounding three Israelis and damaging a factory in the town of Sderot.
Islamic Jihad, which did not accept a ceasefire with Israel, claimed responsibility for Thursday's rocket attacks.
Last week, after eight civilians died in an explosion on a Gaza beach, Hamas said it was calling off the one-year-old ceasefire. Palestinian officials blamed the beach explosion on Israeli artillery, but Israel has denied responsibility.
After Hamas announced it was calling off the ceasefire, an Israeli official said Israel might resume an assassination campaign against Hamas officials, including Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
In other news, the Palestinian information minister, Youssef Rizka, entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt Thursday with two million dollars in his suitcases.
Palestinian officials have been carrying large amounts of cash into the Gaza Strip to alleviate a cash shortage after Western nations suspended aid to the Hamas-led government.
Most Palestinian civil servants have not been paid since February. On Wednesday, some of them stormed the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah, demanding their pay.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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