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Ceasefire in Gaza
Palestinian militants stop firing rockets into Israel from Gaza; peace ensues - for now.
BY OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
November 26, 2006
Ceasefire! Guns have fallen silent in Palestine-Israel conflict country. With Palestinian militants having agreed to stop firing rockets into Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a halt to targeted killings, it’s a long awaited peace effort that is coming to the fore here.
Reports said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rang up Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert telling him told all Palestinian factions had agreed to a ceasefire from 6 am Saturday.
Olmert replied that if there was no rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli forces could also begin to withdraw from Gaza. The ceasefire could bring an end to a spate of violence which has seen the death of more than 100 Palestinians in Israeli operations and two Israeli civilians killed by Palestinian rockets within the past month
Ear;ier reports had said that in Gaza, the Israeli army continued its offensive. Israeli tank fire killed one militant, and other Israeli fire wounded six Palestinians. Palestinian militants have maintained a steady fire of rockets at Israeli areas close to Gaza. Although the crude rockets are very inaccurate, in recent weeks they have managed to hit town centres more frequently than before.
With the current ceasfire, it is hoped that many a development including the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured in June, Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners and the formation of a new Palestinian government, would come long.
Significantly, the ceasefire is applicable only in Gaza and has left out the volatile West Bank. According to Israel authorities, the ceasfire however included a stop to tunnel-digging into Egypt, through which arms are smuggled to the militants.
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