Spoetnik
31-12-08, 11:08
Israel rejects Gaza truce calls
Israel has rejected international calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in humanitarian aid, says a government spokesman.
Mark Regev said that Israel was not looking for a "band aid", or something that would expire a month from now. But he said dialogue would continue.
The truce is among issues being discussed by the Israeli cabinet.
Israel has launched air strikes on Gaza for a fifth day, and more Palestinian rockets landed in south Israel.
A foreign ministry spokesman earlier said a unilateral 48-hour halt was "unrealistic", as long as Hamas continued to fire at Israel.
The 48-hour ceasefire plan to allow aid into Gaza, proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, was raised during an Israeli leadership meeting late on Tuesday.
Reports of the discussions - involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his defence and foreign ministers - suggested any pause in fighting would be accompanied by a threat to send in ground troops if rocket fire into Israel continued.
Mr Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were reportedly opposed to the ceasefire plan, while Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to be inclined to examine it.
See detailed map of attacks
A Hamas spokesman quoted by AFP news agency criticised the current international truce proposals as unbalanced.
"The current efforts aimed at ending the combat and installing a ceasefire put the executioner and victim on equal footing," Fawzi Barhum said.
He said international and Arab efforts had to focus on "ending this aggression".
A European Union statement had called for an "unconditional" halt to Hamas rocket attacks.
The Arab League is also meeting in Cairo to discuss the crisis.
(...)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7805558.stm
Israel has rejected international calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in humanitarian aid, says a government spokesman.
Mark Regev said that Israel was not looking for a "band aid", or something that would expire a month from now. But he said dialogue would continue.
The truce is among issues being discussed by the Israeli cabinet.
Israel has launched air strikes on Gaza for a fifth day, and more Palestinian rockets landed in south Israel.
A foreign ministry spokesman earlier said a unilateral 48-hour halt was "unrealistic", as long as Hamas continued to fire at Israel.
The 48-hour ceasefire plan to allow aid into Gaza, proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, was raised during an Israeli leadership meeting late on Tuesday.
Reports of the discussions - involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his defence and foreign ministers - suggested any pause in fighting would be accompanied by a threat to send in ground troops if rocket fire into Israel continued.
Mr Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were reportedly opposed to the ceasefire plan, while Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to be inclined to examine it.
See detailed map of attacks
A Hamas spokesman quoted by AFP news agency criticised the current international truce proposals as unbalanced.
"The current efforts aimed at ending the combat and installing a ceasefire put the executioner and victim on equal footing," Fawzi Barhum said.
He said international and Arab efforts had to focus on "ending this aggression".
A European Union statement had called for an "unconditional" halt to Hamas rocket attacks.
The Arab League is also meeting in Cairo to discuss the crisis.
(...)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7805558.stm