Israel, Gaza Militants Agree To Truce
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
13 March, 2012
Ma'an News Agency
GAZA -- Israel and militant factions in the Gaza Strip have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered truce to end four days of cross-border violence in which 25 Palestinians have been killed, a senior Egyptian security official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The official said in a telephone call from Cairo that both sides had "agreed to end the current operations", with Israel giving an unusual undertaking to "stop assassinations", and an overall agreement "to begin a comprehensive and mutual calm."
The agreement was set to take effect at 1 a.m. local time (2300 GMT). Previous ceasefire deals after earlier rounds of fighting have often got off to a shaky start.
"There is an understanding," Israeli Civil Defence Minister Matan Vilnai told Israel Radio. "At the moment the direction is toward calm and it appears, unless there are last minute developments, that this round is now behind us."
A Palestinian official close to the talks said "the factions are committed," alluding to the Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, who were most active in the fighting, but that these groups were waiting to see how Israel would respond.
Gaza's Hamas Islamist leadership, whose own cadres have kept out of the fighting and seemed eager to avoid a larger conflict with Israel, had confirmed on Sunday that Egypt was working on a deal to stop the violence.
The truce agreement followed appeals from world powers -- the United States, the United Nations, France, European Union and the Arab League -- for both sides to exercise restraint.
Rockets fired
Israel assasinated the head of the Popular Resistance Committees on Friday, sparking four days of airstrikes which left 25 Palestinians dead.
At least 80 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been wounded in the violence.
Israel said Gaza militants had fired about 200 rockets at its southern towns and cities from Gaza since fighting flared on Friday..
Eight Israelis were injured by the rockets, dozens of which were shot down harmlessly by Israel's "Iron Dome" missile interceptor system.
"The Israeli army will continue to attack the terrorists in Gaza with strength and determination," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers in his Likud party on Sunday.
But while Israel was keen to bar rocket fire at its homefront there seemed to be little public enthusiasm for waging a longer military campaign reminiscent of a 2008-2009 offensive in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.
Gaza, home to 1.7 million people, is under a crippling Israeli blockade.
Violent flareups have been frequent between Israel and Gaza's militant factions in the past few years, in most cases lasting no longer than a week.
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