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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (18969)	1/24/2003 9:35:18 AM
From: lorne	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23908

Hamas Rejects Egyptian Truce Plan January 23, 2003, 12:17 PM EST CAIRO, Egypt -- Hamas and Islamic Jihad will not agree to an Egyptian proposal for a one-year truce with Israel, representatives of the militant Muslim groups said Thursday. "Our position is clear ... we as a movement don't accept any truce in our resistance to the occupation," Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told The Associated Press in Cairo. Hamdan was in Cairo for a meeting of Palestinian factions scheduled to start Friday to discuss an Egyptian proposal that included the truce. Other parties to the talks share Hamas' view, Hamdan said, citing Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades within Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement. Egypt, according to a draft of the proposal already with the delegates, envisions Palestinian factions agreeing to freeze "military acts" for one year to give peace efforts a chance. It also hopes regional and international leaders would in turn pressure Israel to return to negotiations, withdraw from Palestinian territories and cease its policy of assassinating militant leaders. Abdullah Shami, a leader of Islamic Jihad, said in Gaza that his group also won't accept a truce. "We are committed to our strategy and our belief in God," Shami said. "All of them (Israelis) are killers and all of them are bloodsuckers ... and they are united against the Palestinians, and we should be united until we defeat them and achieve our rights." The Cairo meetings were to bring together members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, including Fatah, and Syrian-backed radical groups as well as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The talks were postponed from Wednesday following requests to include two hard-line Syrian-based Palestinian factions, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and the Saaqa faction. Egypt agreed to invite them and the meeting was rescheduled. Egypt holds that a cease-fire would weaken Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's popularity and boost the election chances of dovish Israeli opposition leader Amram Mitzna ahead of Israeli parliamentary elections next week. Mitzna wants an immediate resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians. Hamas officials had indicated they would accept a cease-fire but asked for guarantees from Israel to stop attacking its leaders. Hamdan said he knew of no Israeli guarantees. Israel "will read any truce as a surrender .... We can't offer that to the Israelis," Hamdan said. The last suicide operation against Israelis was the deadliest in a year, when 22 people were killed Jan. 5 in Tel Aviv. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade claimed responsibility. newsday.com