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Version 5 Version 6
New Cease-Fire Begins Between Israelis and Palestinians Agreeing to More Talks in Egypt, Israelis and Palestinians Begin Latest Cease-Fire
(about 3 hours later)
JERUSALEM — A new 72-hour cease-fire in the Gaza fighting, which Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to on Sunday, began at one minute after midnight Monday. JERUSALEM — Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Sunday accepted Egypt’s proposal for a new 72-hour cease-fire in the Gaza fighting, which began one minute after midnight on Monday, and agreed to resume Egyptian-mediated negotiations toward a more durable solution.
The negotiators had accepted Egypt’s call for the three-day truce and for a resumption of Egyptian-mediated negotiations toward a more durable solution for Gaza. But several previous cease-fires have collapsed or expired, followed by renewed fighting, and it was not immediately clear whether the sides had moved nearer to an agreement on the contested issues.
The Israeli government said in a statement that it had accepted the Egyptian cease-fire request. On Sunday evening, Azzam al-Ahmed, the lead Palestinian negotiator in Cairo, said the delegation, which includes Hamas, had notified the Egyptians “that we agreed on the cease-fire based on the Egyptian statement.” The Palestinian negotiators have remained in Cairo since the last cease-fire expired on Friday. As that truce ended, Hamas, the Islamic group that dominates Gaza, fired barrages of rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to resume its airstrikes.
The last cease-fire expired on Friday, and Hamas, the Islamic group that dominates Gaza, fired rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to resume its airstrikes. Sunday’s hostilities, which left at least seven Palestinians dead, continued almost to the last minute. Just before midnight, like a grand finale, more rockets soared out of Gaza into southern Israel and one fell into the sea near Tel Aviv. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility; the Israeli police said the rockets caused no injuries.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the new, temporary cease-fire was intended to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the repair of essential infrastructure, and to allow a window for the resumption of “indirect, immediate and continuous negotiations” for a “complete and permanent cease-fire.” An Israeli official said the Israeli delegation, which left Cairo on Friday morning, would return on Monday if the cease-fire held overnight but warned that Israel would not negotiate under fire.
The Palestinian negotiators have remained in Cairo. An Israeli official said the Israeli delegation, which left Cairo on Friday morning, would return on Monday if the cease-fire held during the night. Contacts between Israel and Egypt have continued by telephone in the meantime. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the new lull was intended to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the repair of essential infrastructure, and to allow a window for the resumption of “indirect, immediate and continuous negotiations” for a lasting cease-fire.
In the hours before midnight, Palestinian militants and the Israeli military continued to exchange blows, but on a much smaller scale than the fierce fighting of the past month, which claimed more than 1,900 Palestinian lives — a majority of them probably civilians — and killed 67, mostly soldiers, on the Israeli side. But members of the Palestinian delegation expressed frustration earlier Sunday over what they said was an emphasis by the Egyptian mediators and the Israelis on winning a cease-fire at the expense of longer-term solutions that would end the isolation of Gaza. One of Hamas’s central demands is a complete lifting of the blockade of Gaza and the free movement of people and goods through its border crossings with Israel and Egypt. Hamas has also demanded the construction of a seaport and the reconstruction of Gaza’s airport.
The Israeli military said it struck more than 30 targets in Gaza on Sunday, including what it described as 11 “terror squads,” some of whom were preparing to fire rockets. Israel, for its part, wants to see Hamas come out of the negotiation process weakened and without any obvious rewards.
At least seven Palestinians were killed on Sunday, including four who were killed in two Israeli airstrikes in southern and northern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening. Three of those were killed in an airstrike aimed at a motorcycle in Khan Younis and one was killed in a strike that hit agricultural land near Jabaliya, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. “The day after should be based, on the one hand, on providing for the economic and social needs of the people of Gaza, without strengthening Hamas,” said Tzipi Livni, a moderate Israeli minister who has pushed for a permanent peace deal with the West Bank Palestinian leadership. But, speaking to reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday, Ms. Livni said any Gaza solution should also be based on Israel’s security concerns, and she called for a mechanism to prevent Hamas from rearming, which is now also an Egyptian interest, and the eventual demilitarization of Gaza.
Nearly 30 rockets were fired at southern Israel on Sunday, the military added. Several were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile defense system, and most fell in open ground, causing no injuries. Ms. Livni ruled out any immediate movement on a Gaza seaport or the airport, saying those were issues to be negotiated as part of a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reiterated Israel’s position that it would “not negotiate under fire.” Azzam al-Ahmad, the leader of the Palestinian delegation to the talks, implored the Israelis not to “waste the time” during the negotiations and the lull in the fighting — especially, he said, because the Palestinians had made “absolutely no new demands,” but rather, he asserted, were asking the Israelis to honor various past agreements.
In remarks broadcast at the start of Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting, which Mr. Netanyahu held at the military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, he said the military operation was continuing. “At no stage did we declare its conclusion,” he said. “The 72-hour cease-fire should be used to achieve a complete agreement, to stabilize the cease-fire and to stop stalling and procrastinating,” he said.
“The operation will continue until its goal is met: the restoration of quiet for a long period,” he added. Qais Abdel-Karim of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, one of the factions attending the talks, said it would be a “farce” for the Palestinian delegation to return with a truce and little else, given the high civilian death toll and the devastation in Gaza.
Israel said its military campaign was intended to quell rocket fire from Gaza and destroy Hamas’s network of tunnels, several of which run under the border and have been used for attacks in Israeli territory. Israel has demanded internationally backed measures to prevent Hamas from rearming as part of any longer cease-fire. Hamas is demanding, among other things, a complete lifting of the blockade of Gaza and the free movement of people and goods through its border crossings with Israel and Egypt, along with the establishment of a seaport and an airport. “People have been suffering and tolerating all that with the hope that this will lead to the relaxation of lifting of the blockade,” Mr. Abdel-Karim said.
Members of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo expressed frustration earlier Sunday at what they said was an emphasis by the Egyptian mediators and the Israelis on winning a cease-fire at the expense of longer-terms solutions that would end Gaza’s isolation. But Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who specializes in Arab affairs, said Hamas was “reaching a point where they realize they are not going to have any gains.”
Qais Abdel-Karim, of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, one of the factions attending the talks, said it would be a “farce” for the delegation to return with an armistice and little else, given the high civilian death toll and the devastation in Gaza. Instead, Mr. Yaari said, the deal would probably be based on “a major package” for the reconstruction of Gaza that would be “for the benefit of the Gaza population,” with projects channeled as much as possible through the West Bank leadership.
“People have been suffering and tolerating all that with the hope that this will lead to the relaxation of lifting of the blockade,” he said. “I think Hamas has been impressed — to its detriment — by the solidity of the Egyptian-Israeli position,” Mr. Yaari added.
Mr. Abdel-Karim said that negotiations would start again on Monday morning. “I am neither optimistic or pessimistic,” he said. “I think that if the situation in Gaza is to stabilize — and for the threat to the region and its security to end — then solutions must be reached to all the issues put forward, including the occupation, including the rebuilding.” Palestinian militants and the Israeli military exchanged blows through Sunday, but on a much smaller scale than the fierce fighting of the past month, which claimed more than 1,900 Palestinian lives — a majority of them probably civilians — and killed 67, mostly soldiers, on the Israeli side.
“But to talk of cease-fire without treating these issues is an invitation to resume the conflict, and resume the cyclical outbreak of violence time and again,” he added. The Israeli military said it struck about 40 targets in Gaza throughout the day, including what it described as 11 “terror squads,” some of whom were preparing to fire rockets. At least seven Palestinians were killed in the strikes, including four who were hit on Sunday evening. Three of those were killed in an airstrike aimed at a motorcycle in Khan Younis and one was killed in a strike that hit agricultural land near Jabaliya, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
More than 40 rockets were fired at Israel on Sunday, the military added. Several were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile defense system, and most fell on open ground, causing no injuries. Israel temporarily closed its main goods crossing into Gaza after at least two rockets landed in the compound.
In the West Bank, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Sunday by Israeli soldiers during a protest near Hebron. The Israeli military said that the soldiers had been responding to protesters who were throwing rocks and that the shooting was being investigated. A relative said the boy had not been involved in the protest.In the West Bank, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Sunday by Israeli soldiers during a protest near Hebron. The Israeli military said that the soldiers had been responding to protesters who were throwing rocks and that the shooting was being investigated. A relative said the boy had not been involved in the protest.