GAZA CITY: Tension surged in and around Gaza yesterday as the rulers of the besieged Palestinian enclave declared an end to the troubled truce with Israel and warned they would respond to any attack.
Hamas’ Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades wing said: “The cease-fire is over and there won’t be a renewal because the Zionist enemy has not respected its conditions.” Both Hamas and Israel have said they would respond if attacked, but neither has said it would go on the offensive at this stage.
“We issue a warning to the Zionist enemy: All attacks against the Gaza Strip or any new crime will trigger a large-scale confrontation and we will retaliate very fiercely,” Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak for his part told the Haaretz newspaper: “If the quiet continues, there will be quiet. If the lull is shattered, we will act.” Several newspapers said the Israeli defense establishment is not eager for battle at this stage. “There are myriad arguments against a war in Gaza, but the strongest is the one defense officials can’t utter aloud ... It would be hard to go into Gaza at the height of an election campaign,” the liberal Haaretz said.
Israel will hold legislative elections on Feb. 10 after scandal-plagued Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tendered his resignation in September.
Barak said he sees no urgency in launching a large-scale military intervention in Gaza.
“I do not flinch from an operation and I do not rush into an operation,” he said in an interview with Haaretz.
The truce had been uneasy ever since it went into effect on June 19, and violence has increased since early November, with 18 Palestinians killed and Israel reporting more than 250 rocket and mortar fire attacks.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the truce that was negotiated through Egyptian intermediaries. The Israeli government blames Hamas for not stopping attacks often carried out by smaller Palestinian factions, while Hamas fighters say that not only Israel’s raids but also its continued blockade of the impoverished territory were in violation of the truce agreement.
Israel responded to the surge of violence in early November by tightening sanctions and closing crossing points with Gaza, halting deliveries of humanitarian aid and other supplies.
The UN Relief and Works Agency said shortages caused by the closures and the rocket fire forced it to suspend distribution of food assistance to about half of Gaza’s population on Thursday.
Russia yesterday urged Hamas to reconsider its decision. “We received with great concern the information that (Hamas) will not keep to the truce in the Gaza Strip,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Such decisions risk causing new victims and suffering to innocent people.”
Egypt called for restraint both from Israel and Hamas. “Israel needs to show more flexibility by opening the crossing points and allowing essential supplies into Gaza,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossan Zaki said.
