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Gaza Strip calm as new ceasefire starts

A ceasefire started taking hold in the Gaza Strip yesterday, after five days of intense Hamas-Fatah fighting that left 34 people dead.

However, previous truce deals struck in recent weeks of factional clashes quickly collapsed and it appeared unlikely the two sides would comply with all the terms of the current agreement, such as handing over all those involved in killings and abductions.

In the past, Hamas and Fatah gunmen used periods of lull to prepare for the next round of fighting.

The shaky truce deal, struck by Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and a Rauhi Fattouh, an envoy of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, came as a two-month ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians was jeopardized by a Palestinian suicide bombing, the first since April.

The bomber, a 21-year-old from Gaza, struck the Israeli resort city of Eilat on the Red Sea on Sunday, killing himself and three people.

Hamas, which controls the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet, praised the attack as legitimate resistance while Israeli leaders hinted that a military response was being considered.

Early yesterday, Israeli aircraft bombed a tunnel dug by Palestinians near the Gaza-Israeli border. The Israeli military said the tunnel was meant for use by militants for an attack against Israel.

No casualties were reported.

In the past, militants had dug such tunnels to attack Israeli army outposts and other installations.

Israel observed a truce with the Palestinians in Gaza since late November and the airstrike appeared to signal that the Eilat bombing had put the ceasefire in danger.

In Gaza City, gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the night, but the shooting stopped at about 5am, several hours after the ceasefire deal was struck.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas said the agreement stipulated that all security forces return to their bases, that suspects in killings be handed over and that all hostages still being held -- a number thought to be in the dozens -- be released.

He also said all roadblocks set up by the factions were to be removed.

Fatah spokesman Maher Mekdad said his group would observe the agreement. "Despite all the bitterness and sadness that we are feeling, we will work to make it succeed," he said.

During the fighting, both sides had set up roadblocks around the offices and homes of leaders, as well as in neighborhoods they control.

Yesterday morning, Hamas removed roadblocks from some areas, while security forces loyal to Abbas continued to block off some roads.

The underlying cause of the fighting -- a bitter power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, about equal in strength -- has not been resolved.

Coalition talks have broken down and appear unlikely to resume soon. Abbas, meanwhile, is determined to go ahead with calling early elections, a plan denounced by Hamas as a coup attempt.

Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have offered to mediate and Abbas was to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo yesterday.
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