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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (file)
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| By Israel Insider staff September 20, 2007 |
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Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is calling for a ceasefire with Israel following the security cabinet's decision to declare the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity," a decision that allows Israel to cut off the Strip's electricity, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Haniyeh held meetings on Thursday with representatives of the terrorist groups Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza and asked them to halt rocket and mortar attacks against Israel.
Hamas sources reported that both groups said they were willing to comply with Haniyeh's request, but wanted to wait to see how Israel would respond to a proposed cease-fire.
Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad militants, said Thursday that "rockets are an affirmation of our option of continuing holy war and resistance against the occupation. Therefore, resistance will only stop if the occupation ends," he said, Haaretz reported.
However, the occupation may refer to the entire land of Israel, and not just the territories won in the 1967 war, because the groups' rhetoric consistently refers to the liberation of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.
Meanwhile, Army Radio reported Thursday that the IDF is set to begin compiling a list of the economic sanctions to be imposed on the Gaza Strip following the cabinet's decision to declare Gaza and its Hamas government a "hostile entity."
Cabinet ministers agreed that in response to the escalation of rocket attacks on Israel, the government will accordingly compromise the ability of Hamas to govern in Gaza as the quality of life deteriorated. "We will reduce the amount of megawattage we provide to the Strip, and Hamas will have to decide whether to provide electricity to hospitals or weapons lathes," an official said.
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