Sunday, August 21, 2011

Ma'an: "Projectiles fired at Israel after Gaza ceasefire announced"

While one of the headlines at Iran's IRIB is "Zionists committing war crimes in Gaza," this report seems to bear some relation to the facts. Note PRC's position:
Four projectiles and several mortars have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, an Israeli army spokeswoman said Sunday.

Two projectiles were launched at Ashkelon and two others landed in the Hof Ashkelon regional council.

No injuries were reported.

The latest escalation comes as Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that a Hamas official had earlier announced an Egyptian brokered ceasefire between militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

The projectiles were reportedly fired at 8.30 p.m. winter saving time, but 9.30 p.m. Israeli time, Haaretz reported, noting that it is still unclear as to whether the ceasefire will be implemented.

The Hamas official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Egypt had helped mediate the cease fire after telling Gaza groups that Israel would halt airstrikes if militants stopped firing projectiles.

The official said that the ceasefire would begin Sunday evening and Hamas security would enforce the agreement, Haaretz said.

A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committee [PRC] said, however, that they would not accept the ceasefire, Israeli news site Ynet reported.

"Our stance is clear. We have no connection to the ceasefire agreement with the Zionist enemy," Ynet quoted Abu Mujahed as telling a Palestinian news agency.

Israel must take responsibility for its actions, Abu Mujahed said, referring to the assassination of PRC leaders in the Gaza Strip.

The ceasefire is "cursed," he added.

Earlier, a senior Islamic Jihad leader told AFP that Egyptian officials had held talks with some of Gaza's military factions in order to secure a ceasefire agreement.

Although Gaza's Hamas leaders were not there in person, a senior official from the Islamist movement confirmed they were in touch with the Egyptians by phone.

Israel began bombarding the Gaza Strip after militants staged a series of bloody shooting attacks in the Negev desert on Thursday, killing eight Israelis and prompting a wave of bloody tit-for-tat exchanges. [...]
Other Pro-Israel bloggers have informative posts about current developments. EOZ, for instance, explains that "according to Arab sources" "10 of the 13 Gazans killed since Thursday were terrorists." The Muqata is live-blogging. Daled Amos has a post on the UN non-response.

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