Israel is willing to renew a six-months old calm deal with Hamas in and around the Gaza Strip if Palestinian groups halt all attacks against the Jewish state, a senior defence official said. Top defence ministry official Amos Gilad is heading to Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and senior officials to review the renewal of the Egyptian-brokered deal which is set to expire on December 19, the official told AFP.
"If Hamas is ready to maintain the calm and return to the situation as it was" a few weeks ago "Israel will be willing to continue the truce," he was quoted as saying. This move comes six days after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he had told security chiefs to make plans for military action against armed groups in Gaza and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the government should respond "militarily, economically and politically".
