Hamas accuses Israel of reducing Gaza fishermen's work space

Source : http://www.globaltimes.com

Hamas on Friday accused Israel of violating an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire by restoring restrictions on Gaza fishermen's work space.

The Israeli decision to reduce the fishing space to three nautical miles coincides with the closure of the only commercial crossing point for Gaza Thursday in response to rockets fired from Gaza on Israeli targets, which left no injuries.

"This is a clear violation of the ceasefire and we blame the Israeli occupation on any consequences of this decision," Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson of the Islamic movement, told Xinhua.

Abu Zuhri called on Egypt, in its capacity as the sponsor of the truce, "to follow up" with Israel and "shoulder its responsibility regarding this violation," stressing that the Palestinian factions will stay committed to the truce.

The agreement reached last November, which ended eight days of cross-border fighting between Hamas militants and Israel, requires Israel to increase the fishing space to six nautical miles, adding more facilities at the crossing point and canceling a 300-meter- wide buffer zone along its borders with Gaza.

An Al-Qaida-linked group, which has often challenged Hamas' rule in Gaza, claimed responsibility for firing the rockets into Sderot on Thursday, the second of their kind since the ceasefire.

The Israeli army said Thursday that one of the rockets hit the yard of a house in the southern town of Sderot, another landed in an open area in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, and two others fell short inside Gaza.

The rockets firing came as US President Barack Obama was visiting Israel and the West Bank.

Last month, Israel said Palestinian militants fired a Grad rocket into the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.

On the other hand, the Israeli army have killed four Palestinians and wounded dozens in separate incidents since the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took effect.

Feature: Gazans celebrate cease-fire with massive rallies

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sirens of ambulances and fire engines were howling over Gaza streets late Wednesday, but at this time, they were not rushing to rescue victims, but celebrating the end of Israel's aggression which has left 162 Palestinians killed.

Egypt declared that a cease-fire was reached between Israel and Gaza's Palestinians. As soon as clock indicator pointed at 9:00 p. m. local time (1900 GMT), ambulance crews and firefighters in the Gaza Strip firstly started the rallies, apparently because they can have a respite after eight days of nonstop work.

"It's time to go home, I will see my family," said an ambulance driver amid crowds of cars and people dancing on the streets, who are waving flags, firing in the air and chanting slogans commending the "Palestinian resistance." However, the driver said he would keep his mobile on and keep alert.

People are also hugging each other and congratulating each other for surviving the eight-day violence.

Yousef Zahar, the general chief of the civil defense, was celebrating outside Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, with his florescent red jacket.

"I was confident that this day will come," he said, adding that "They (Israel) lost the war... Our next battle will be in Jerusalem," he shouted loudly.

For him, Hamas has made a notable progress in lifting the blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza, though the implementation of the agreement is still unclear.

Not far from al-Shifa hospitals, families which took shelter in school were packing stuff and some of them who have cars or donkey carts started to return their homes with their mattresses on the roofs of their vehicles.

But inside the hospital, exactly outside the morgue, some sad people didn't join the celebrations. They were the relatives of the victims who were killed in the last day of the Israeli attacks.

Ceasefire Between Israel, Hamas Comes Into Effect

Source : RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, November 22 (RIA Novosti) – An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas Islamist group has come into effect, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Wednesday evening.

Both sides praised the agreement, in line with which, Israel has to end hostilities and targeted killings in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas has to stop launching rockets into Israel. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said Wednesday the ceasefire has been achieved starting at 7:00 p.m. GMT on Wednesday.

The IDF said it has completed objectives for its Operation Pillar of Defense against the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave of 1.7 million that has been governed by Hamas since 2007. The operation started on November 14 with an airstrike that eliminated the head of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmed Jabari. The airstrike came after a reported surge in rocket attacks on Israeli border towns from Gaza.

“A short while ago, a ceasefire agreement regarding the fighting in the south, came into effect. Following eight days of operations, the IDF has accomplished its pre-determined objectives for Operation Pillar of Defense, and has inflicted severe damage to Hamas and its military capabilities,” the IDF said on its website.

“As a result of IDF operations, the command and control apparatus of Hamas was significantly struck,” it said, adding that broad terrorist infrastructure, facilities and military bases were also targeted and dozens of smuggling and explosive tunnels destroyed.

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal called the truce deal a victory for Palestinians. In line with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza, all border crossing points linking the Palestinian enclave with the outside world have to be opened 24 hours since the ceasefire came into effect, which, according to Meshaal, means an end to Gaza’s blockade.

“Israel committed itself to lift blockade of the Gaza Strip and stop killings,” Meshaal said. “The latest Israeli aggression showed that resistance is the ideal choice for establishing a Palestinian state. The results we have achieved are a victory for all Palestinians and a victory for the Arab nation,” he said.

Before the ceasefire was agreed, at least 18 people were injured when an explosion hit a bus in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Hamas said it welcomed the bombing as a "natural response" to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, but said it was not behind the attack.

Around 160 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's eight-day air and naval attack on Hamas-ruled Gaza, officials say. Gaza’s health ministry says many children are among the Palestinian dead.

Palestinian rockets hurtled toward Israeli towns and cities on Wednesday, but most were knocked down by the sophisticated Iron Dome air defense system. Israel says five people have been killed by Palestinian rockets in the last eight days and 240 have been injured.

The EU and UN welcomed the ceasefire.

Israel’s last invasion of Gaza, in 2008-2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis died in the 22-day-long Operation Cast Lead.