[Ynet News ] Ron Ben-Yishai - Last week, the security cabinet accepted Defense Minister Ehud Barak's proposal whereby Israel would agree to a temporary truce in Gaza, should the following conditions be met: Hamas will end the rocket fire and terror attacks, as will all other terror organizations and armed groups in Gaza. Simultaneously, Israel will end its military operations in Gaza, without ending its anti-terror activity in the West Bank. Hamas will stop smuggling weapons and military know-how to the Strip and stop sending people for training in Iran. In addition, it will stop developing and producing rockets, missiles, and sophisticated explosive devices, stop digging tunnels, and put an end to its effort to build up military fortifications. Egypt will conduct vigorous intelligence and operational activity across the Sinai Peninsula, at sea, along the Sinai shores, and deep within Egypt, in order to thwart the smuggling of arms into the Strip, as well as the smuggling of explosive materials, explosive experts, and machinery used for producing arms. Should the ceasefire be honored by Hamas, Israel will gradually open the Gaza crossings to the transfer of goods. However, the Rafah crossing with Egypt will only be opened after an agreement is secured on a monitoring mechanism to be adopted via cooperation among the Egyptians, the Palestinian Authority (Mahmoud Abbas' people), and international observers. After the opening of the Karni and Sufa crossings to the unlimited transfer of goods into the Strip - and before the Rafah crossing is opened - negotiations in respect to abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit will be accelerated. We are not talking about an agreement that both parties will sign, but, rather, pledges that Hamas and the other Palestinian groups, just like Israel, will make to the Egyptian mediator. The understanding is that the lull will last for six months with an option for extending it. For the time being, there is no need to pin many hopes on a long-term lull agreement.
2008-06-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive