Israel on Tuesday accepted an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Hamas and ordered its military to halt operations against targets in Gaza, but Hamas rejected the proposal outright and continued firing rockets against Israeli civilians.
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The Israeli Security Cabinet met early Tuesday morning and reached a decision to halt strikes as of Tuesday 9 a.m. local time. "We remain alert and preserve high preparedness levels, both defensive and offensive," IDF spokesman Peter Lerner said. "If the Hamas terror organization will fire at Israel, we shall respond."
The plan calls for all sides to cease hostilities in Gaza. It also calls for the opening of border crossings, once the security situation is stable, and for high-level talks among those involved.
Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, dismissed any talks of a cease-fire, saying its battle with "the enemy" will "increase in ferocity and intensity."
"We in the Al-Qassam Brigades reject altogether the proposal, which for us is not worth the ink that it was written with."
Since the Cabinet's announcement, rocket fire continued from Gaza into its territory, the Israeli military said. As of Tuesday noon, ten rockets were fired toward Ashdod and nearby towns. The Iron Dome anti-missile defense system knocked down one rocket, another landed in the yard of a house in Ashdod. No damage or injuries were reported. The death toll in Gaza was 192 as Israel held its fire.
Full text of the Egyptian cease-fire proposal
Source: Haaretz
1. Owing to Egypt’s historical responsibility, and out of belief in the importance of achieving peace in the region, protecting the lives of innocents, and ending the bloodshed;
Egypt calls upon Israel and all of the Palestinian factions to enact an immediate cease-fire, due to the fact that escalation and mutual violence, and the victims that will result, will not be in the interest of either party as such, during the period of the cease-fire, both sides shall abide by the following:
a. Israel shall cease all hostilities against the Gaza Strip via land, sea, and air, and shall commit to refrain from conducting any ground raids against Gaza and targeting civilians.
b. All Palestinian factions in Gaza shall cease all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel via land, sea, air, and underground, and shall commit to refrain from firing all types of rockets, and from attacks on the borders or targeting civilians.
c. Crossings shall be opened and the passage of persons and goods through border crossings shall be facilitated once the security situation becomes stable on the ground.
d. Other issues, including security issues shall be discussed with the two sides.
2. Method of implementation of the initiative:
a. It has been decided to initiate implementation of the de-escalation agreements at -- : -- hours (GMT) on -- / 7 / 2014, pending the implementation of a full cease-fire within twelve hours of the announcement of the Egyptian initiative and its unconditional acceptance by both sides.
b. High-level delegations from both the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions shall be hosted in Cairo within 48 hours of the initiation of the initiative’s implementation in order to conclude talks for the consolidation of the ceasefire and resume confidence-building measures between the two sides. Talks shall be held with each of the two sides separately (in accordance with the agreements for the consolidation of de-escalation in Cairo in 2012).
c. Both sides shall commit to refrain from taking any actions aimed at undermining the implementation of the agreements; Egypt shall receive guarantees from both sides of their commitment to implementing what has been agreed and shall follow up on its implementation and engage with either side in the case of any action that impinges on its stability.
