A shaky ceasefire agreement holds in Gaza as Abbas ponders his next political move, reports Erica Silverman On his first diplomatic tour since the Hamas-led government was sworn into office in March, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told reporters in Damascus, "the door for dialogue must be kept open and talks between the Palestinians must continue," asserting that efforts to form a national unity government between Fatah and Hamas have not ended. "However, if there are sides among the Palestinians who want to close the door on dialogue, then they alone would bear responsibility for the results of their position." Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas sent a clear message that his administration is ready to take that next step when he declared that talks between Fatah and Hamas had "reached a dead end", after meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday in Jericho. The course he will choose is unclear, said presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh, be it early elections or a referendum to let the Palestinian people decide. President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to a ceasefire 26 November, ending the five-month-long series of Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip, including regular shelling, that claimed the lives of more than 457 people, a quarter of them children, and injured well over 1,000, according to the PA Health Ministry. The destruction of homes, agricultural land and infrastructure was flagrant, while thousands of residents sought refuge in UN shelters. The so-called "Summer Rains" and subsequently "Autumn Clouds" Israeli military operations commenced 26 June, purportedly to halt the launching of Al-Qassam rockets into Israel and to secure the recovery of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas. One Israeli was killed by rocket fire emanating from Gaza and 50 were injured between September 2005 -- the time of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza -- and early November this year, according to the spokesperson for the Israeli National Police Mickey Rosenfeld. Prime Minster Olmert has no plans of extending the ceasefire to the West Bank. "We will fully explore every possibility that can lead to momentum to begin a diplomatic process, and so we are now giving the truce a chance," he told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee on Monday. When first declared, Palestinians were hoping the ceasefire would lead to a comprehensive peace process. In a statement issued from Gaza, Hamas said the movement is not ready to extend the ceasefire to the West Bank, saying, "the comprehensive truce should come as part of a comprehensive national programme for the next stage." Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said during Sunday's cabinet meeting that as a rule, Palestinians factions were partially maintaining the ceasefire, claiming, "15 rockets have been fired at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip since the ceasefire declaration; most were fired from Fatah positions." The Israeli cabinet reportedly ordered the Israeli military not to fire against targets in Gaza though Palestinian security officials accused Israel of violating the fragile ceasefire, claiming that an Israeli navy vessel fired at Palestinian fishing boats along the Gaza coast Saturday. Peretz said the ceasefire was, "first and foremost, the result of continual military and economic pressure," although it is difficult to prove how bombing the only power station in Gaza or bulldozing agricultural land and houses reduced the military capabilities of Hamas. "The military campaign [in Gaza] did not stop the Qassams," said Olmert. "We have to try [other] ways that will stop them." Perhaps Israel is ready to reconsider its ruthless policy of military aggression targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza. Israeli members of the Knesset such as Effi Eitam (National Union/National Religious Party) and Yuval Steinitz (Likud) have criticised Olmert for his agreement to the ceasefire, arguing that Israel should continue its Gaza operations until their objective has been achieved. Palestinians argue the objective has been to force regime change through collective punishment. Israel reportedly did change its official military policy in the West Bank, seemingly in an effort to preserve the fragile ceasefire. Under its new guidelines, the Israeli army can no longer arrest Palestinians without clear approval from senior officers. Arrests must be authorised by either GOC Central Command Major General Yair Naveh or West Bank commanders with the rank of brigadier general, reported the Israeli daily Haaretz. It has been difficult to convince certain Palestinian factions to adhere to the ceasefire while Israel has continued to target their West Bank leadership and the civilian population.
