Paul Ohia With Agency Report
18 June 2008
Lagos — Egypt has brokered a historic ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a radical Islamic group, and the agreements will take effect from tomorrow.
Reuters quoted an anonymous Palestinian official as saying that the two sides agreed to a six-month deal.
He voiced confidence that the latest violence would not hold up the start of the agreement to end constant bloodshed.
"Implementation of the truce will begin at 6 a.m. (also 6 a.m. Nigerian time) on Thursday," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authourised to announce an accord.
The press counselor at the Egyptian Embassy in Nigeria, Dr. Saber Antar, told THISDAY yesterday that the agreement would improve the situation if the two parties were committed.
He said: "For Gaza people, life will be better. Security of the two parties can be improved. Let us hope in a process to the end of the tunnel".
For years, mortar bomb attacks on Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip coupled with Israeli raids in the territory was the order of the day but the truce is meant to put all these in checks.
Israel has said it would continue preparations for broad military action should a truce fall apart.
A senior Egyptian official was quoted by Egypt's Middle East News Agency as confirming the Palestinian official's information.
Israel stopped short of confirming the timing of what it said would be an informal arrangement to halt fighting.
"What is important is not words but actions," said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
He repeated Israel's demands for an end to attacks on Israeli civilians, a halt to arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip and progress toward the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants two years ago.
Israeli and Palestinian officials cautioned earlier on Tuesday that under any truce accord, the blockade Israel imposed on the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized the territory a year ago would be eased only gradually and partially.
"I am confident that everybody will abide by what we've agreed. All the groups, which went to Cairo gave their okay to the ceasefire. If anybody does anything, they will be doing it on their own," BBC quoted Hamas official Ahmed Yousef as saying.
Israel's Defence Ministry said one of its senior officials, Amos Gilad, would fly to Cairo later yesterday to be updated on the progress of the truce negotiations.
Commenting on the Gaza air strikes, which the Israeli military said targeted militants, the Palestinian official told Reuters that both sides were "trying to show they agreed to the truce out of strength, not weakness".
Another Israeli official said Israeli intelligence chiefs were sceptical a truce could last and that Israel could avoid launching a broad military operation in the Gaza Strip.
"If Hamas keeps the ceasefire, we can gradually deliver more goods and supplies," the Israeli official said.
He said any commitment to a level of supplies into the Gaza Strip would be kept "vague on purpose" and that the enclave's main crossing to the outside world, the Rafah terminal along the Egyptian frontier, would remain closed for now.
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