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Israel Declares 7-Hour Humanitarian Cease-Fire Monday; Hamas Says It Will Not Hold Its Fire
(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon and Khalid Abu Toameh - Israel said it would hold fire in most of Gaza for seven hours on Monday to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and for displaced Palestinians to return to their homes. In response, Hamas said it will not hold its fire. One diplomatic official said that Israel did not feel a need to participate in the talks taking place in Cairo, because "there is a growing understanding in the international community that Hamas is not a serious party, and that the assurances it gives are worthless." "There is a feeling among those who put in a lot of effort [into Friday's broken cease-fire agreement brokered by the U.S. and the UN] that Hamas is not serious." Rather than concentrating on the developments in Cairo and cease-fire efforts, the official said Israel is determined to "act in our own interest, redeploy, and continue to defend ourselves." The discussions in Cairo are focusing on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's cease-fire initiative, which was announced three weeks ago and accepted by Israel, but rejected by Hamas.