Mission & Justice

17/6/08

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire arrangement, according to Egyptian and Palestinian officials. “Implementation of the truce will begin at 6am (0300 GMT) on Thursday,” a Palestinian official said on Tuesday. Hamas said it would respect the six-month deal, which materialised after months of mediation by Egypt. “Hamas will adhere to the timetable which was set by Egypt but it is our right to respond to any Israeli aggression before its implementation,” Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said. Israeli officials, however, have yet to confirm the Egyptian-brokered deal.

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Bernard Kouchner; 22/5/08

A bid by Egypt to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel has faltered after the radical Palestinian group failed to secure a pledge to lift an Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza, Palestinian officials said Thursday. Last month, Hamas and other Palestinian factions gave their tentative approval to a cease-fire with Israel in an Egyptian attempt to mediate the deal. But Israeli leaders expressed concerns and outlined conditions for any possible truce deal with Hamas. Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Omar Suleiman this week about the idea of a cooling off period with Israel, but left Cairo abruptly Wednesday without announcing the much-anticipated truce.

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Akiva Eldar; 21/5/08

The gap between the Syrian and Israeli positions lies in Damascus’ demand for an Israeli withdrawal to the July 4, 1967 lines and Jerusalem’s stance that any withdrawal must be to the international border. On the ground, this gap is just several hundred meters, but the sticking point is Syria’s demand for land reaching the north-eastern shore of the Kinneret. Unofficial contacts between the two sides via a Swiss channel, which lasted until summer 2006 and were driven by former Foreign Ministry director general Alon Liel, resulted in an agreement that the disputed area between the 1967 lines and the international border would be part of a “peace park” that would cover the entire Golan Heights. The Syrians agreed that Israelis would be able to visit the park during the day without any entry requirements.

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