After a quiet night, the Palestinians fired a salvo of rockets this morning from the Gaza Strip at the south and center of Israel. One rocket hit a house in Ashkelon, and 21 people were injured by flying glass. The family living in the house was not hurt. The Iron Dome system intercepted a rocket over Tel Aviv. Immediately afterwards, the IDF attacked three rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip. Since midnight, the Israel Air Force has hit at least 15 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, after more than 120 rockets were fired at Israel yesterday.
Meanwhile, talks on a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas continue. Egypt has been mediating between the sides, and the US is once more involved, but no agreement has yet been reached. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said last night that the talks were making better progress than in previous rounds.
The Egyptian initiative includes an immediate cease-fire in exchange for the opening of border crossings initially, and then expansion of the permitted fishing zone off the Gaza coast. Following this, the matters in dispute between Israel and Hamas will be discussed: Israel's demand for demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and Hamas's demand for a seaport, an airport, and the release of prisoners.
Reuters reports that the US is working on a new formula for a cease-fire that it will bring before the UN Security Council. An Israeli source is quoted as saying that Israel has seen the US draft, and finds no contradiction between the US and Egyptian initiatives, but rather complementary moves.
The Palestinian Authority is deeply involved in formulating the Egyptian proposal. The Islamic Jihad organization, apparently at Iran's behest, decided to accept the proposal yesterday. Israeli sources say that the process is waiting on a response from Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashal, but that Mashal is not in a hurry to make a decision. Israel believes that the Hamas leadership within the Gaza Strip is ready for a long-term cease-fire, especially after the killing of three of its military commanders following the collapse of last week's cease-fire. Sami Abu Zuhri told Al-Jazeera, "We are not concerned at the deferral of the discussions on the issues of prisoners, the airport and the seaport."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 26, 2014
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