Source: Al-Manar, 11-03-2008
The situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories seems to be unclear, Palestinian resistance groups and the "Israeli" occupation government are seemed to be in a state of anticipation. Will it be escalation or lull?
Many Sderot settlers believe that this lull in Qassam rockets is only calm before the storm. "It's clear that the Palestinians are rearming and this will be shown very soon," says Hava Gad, a Sderot resident. "The calm is very worrisome."
"It hasn't been resolved and it won't be resolved. The concern about rocket fire haunts us around everywhere," she added.
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal holds a similar opinion. "As mayor I am pretty worried, this calm is quite frightening," he says. "It is clear that all the Palestinians didn't surrender and they are taking advantage these days to rearm once again. We've already had (periods of) calm like this and in a few days the rocket barrages will return."
The al-Arabiyya television network reported on Monday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed that an agreement on a truce between "Israel" and Hamas had been reached during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman.
"There is an agreement in principle on this issue," Abbas told reporters at the end of his meeting with the Jordanian king. "Hamas and the Jihad have asked that their leaders would not be hurt, and I believe the ‘Israelis' have agreed to this. We are expected to hear about such a deal in the coming days."
Hamas did not annouce a deal over Gaza, however deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyyah said he was ready to reach a deal with Egyptian mediation.
The PA remarks also contradicted statements made earlier by "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Defense (War) Minister Ehud Barak that there was no agreement between "Israel" and Hamas. It's worth mentioning that Olmert along with Barak had announced that the military operation in the Gaza Strip is not over yet.
Their declarations come after more than 10 days of the "Israeli" aggression on the Strip that killed over 120 Palestinians, mostly children, let alone that the "Israeli" operation failed to stop the resistance groups from firing the Qassams into occupied territories.