Terror group joins Arafat ceasefire
The militant Hamas, which carried out the beachfront suicide bombing in Israel, today joined a ceasefire called by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, as world leaders work to keep the lid on Middle East violence.
Arafat called a meeting of his Fatah leadership and Hamas representatives last night. In a joint statement, the militants said they were halting attacks to give Israel a chance to ‘‘stop assassination and stop killing and destruction’’.
Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon declared a unilateral ceasefire two weeks ago, but Palestinians dismissed it as a publicity stunt.
Hamas support for the ceasefire Arafat called is seen as vital to its success. Hamas said the bomber who blew himself up outside a Tel Aviv disco on Friday night, killing 20 other people, most of them Israeli teenagers, belonged to the militant Islamic group.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for many bomb attacks against Israel.
However, another militant group, Islamic Jihad, did not take part in the meeting, and the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, formally part of the PLO but opposed to peace with Israel, issued conflicting statements.
In Gaza, a day-long battle threatened to collapse the ceasefire. Each side blamed the other for starting the exchange near the border with Egypt, a constant point of friction during more than eight months of fighting.
At least 20 Palestinians were wounded, two critically, doctors said, and three Israeli soldiers were hurt, the Israeli military said.
Palestinians fired several mortar shells at Israeli settlements and an army post in Gaza, and in the West Bank, Palestinian gunmen fired at a car. No one was hurt.
Asked if the firefight meant the ceasefire would not hold, Israeli deputy defence minister Dalia Rabin-Pelossof said, ‘‘We must give another opportunity for this to work.’’
Palestinian leaders insisted that even a ceasefire would not end their struggle against Israel.
West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who attended the meeting with Arafat, said the ceasefire applied only to areas under full Palestinian control. In other areas, he said, ‘‘resisting occupation is a legitimate right of the Palestinians’’.
West Bank Palestinian security chief Jibril Rajoub pledged a ‘‘100% effort’’ to enforce the ceasefire, but warned that only a political solution would end the conflict.
German foreign minister Joschka Fischer extended his stay in the region by a day to continue intensive talks, saying he was shocked by the disco bombing, a few meters from his hotel.
He told Israel television that international monitoring, led by the United States, would be necessary for any Israel-Palestinian accord.
Israeli and Palestinian officials appeared to accept the idea, though Israel opposes internationalising the conflict.
Israel said America’s CIA director George Tenet was expected to arrive soon, to oversee security co-operation talks, but no firm date had been set.
