Hamas Ceasefire Violations Watch #001
Hamas Ceasefire Violations Watch | 18.01.2009 12:35
DEBKAfile Special Report
January 18, 2009, 11:47 AM (GMT+02:00)
Five Hamas launched five missiles against Sderot after opening fire on an Israeli tank force in northern Gaza early Sunday, Jan 16, seven hours after Israeli troops carried out government orders to cease hostilities. Israeli ground troops returned the fire and engaged Hamas operatives in battle after which its air force struck Gaza targets.
The Israeli security cabinet in a special meeting Saturday night, Jan. 17, approved a unilateral halt in fire in the Gaza Strip from 0200 hours while leaving Operation Cast Lead forces in Gaza to test Hamas' response.
DEBKAfile: Israeli forces will hold to their positions in the Gaza Strip for no more than days. Meanwhile, although prime minister Ehud Olmert assured the nation that all the Gaza operation's goals had been reached, Hamas promised to keep on fighting and shooting rockets, while neither Washington nor Cairo guaranteed action to end the flow of weapons to Gaza.
As the cabinet voted, Hamas fired rockets against Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba - 40 in all Saturday.
Sunday, a large group of European leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic descends on Jerusalem. DEBKAfile's sources report they are coming ostensibly to show the flag for Israel, but they will also be on hand to ascertain that the Israeli military quits the Gaza Strip – even without the operation's goals being met – and also lean hard on Israel to open the six Gaza crossings as demanded by Hamas. They will also meet Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at Sharm e-Sheikh.
The plan the European leaders have developed with Egypt provides a $1.6 billion aid package for the Gaza Strip's reconstruction.
The millions of tons of cement and supplies will be shipped to Israeli ports and delivered through the Gaza crossings over a period of years. Israel, they believe, will not be able to refuse to reopen the crossings, thereby bringing its embargo of the Gaza Strip to an end.
Hamas Ceasefire Violations Watch
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