[McClatchy ] Dion Nissenbaum - The Egyptian-brokered truce is slowly unraveling as Hamas leaders in Gaza struggle to keep militants - especially their Fatah rivals - from firing the occasional rocket at Israel. After years of derailing Palestinian peace talks with Israel by staging suicide bombings, Hamas is now the one asking rivals to halt their attacks on Israel. Since the cease-fire took hold on June 19, Gaza militants have fired 11 rockets and mortars at southern Israel. In a Gaza mosque, a group of Islamic Jihad fighters wearing black facemasks and combat vests proudly showed off Chinese-made machine guns and Russian rocket-propelled-grenades. "It's like rain coming down," said Abu Thabet. "You can get all kinds of weapons." "This cease-fire is a matter of rest," said Abu Mohammed. "It's a fighters' break, to prepare for the next stage."
2008-07-07 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive