Israeli troops who entered the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus killed a Palesinian, Israeli security sources said on Tuesday. According to Israeli reports the man was armed.
Hamas is prepared to respect a truce if Israel stops its "aggression" against the Palestinians and if the deal is backed by international guarantees, a leader of the Movement was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
The pan-Arab daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat said Mussa Abu Marzuq had informed Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman that Hamas is "ready for a total ceasefire if Israel publicly commits itself to stopping every kind of aggression against the Palestinian people."
Marzuq, on a visit to Cairo, said it is "important that Israel be a partner" in a ceasefire agreement, noting that a unilateral truce is worthless.
According to Hamas, Israeli "aggression" includes "assassination operations, incursions and house demolitions," said Marzuk.
On late Sunday, Hamas’ spokesman Dr. Abdul Aziz al Rantisi reiterated its willingness to reach a ceasefire with Israel if and when the Israeli occupation army stops targeting Palestinian civilians.
He told reporters in Gaza the movement was willing to halt attacks on Israeli civilians if Israeli troops stopped attacks on Palestinian civilians. However, Rantisi said Hamas would continue to fight the Israeli occupation army and Jewish settlers.
“We have an inherent moral and legal right to resist the occupation. Israel will not grant us our freedom free of charge. We have to struggle and prove to them that the occupation is costly.”
