Saturday, November 25, 2006

Arutz Sheva: "Terrorists Still Building Tunnels, One Collapses"

That title is the current situation in a nutshell:
The collapse of a terrorist-built tunnel under the Gaza-Egyptian border Saturday pointed to the continued failure of Egypt to abide by last year's agreement to protect Israel.

A number of Palestinian Authority Arabs were trapped beneath the rubble. One of the men was freed after rescue workers dug him out of the debris.

The tunnel was dug under a house in Gaza located some 100 meters from the border with Egypt, according to Col. Hussein Abu Omar, a PA security official.

It was not clear how far into Egypt the tunnel reached, nor was it immediately apparent whether the tunnel was used to smuggle weapons, contraband or both.

No further information about the incident was available.
Also from Arutz Sheva: "Israeli Ceasefire in Return for Partial Arab Truce":
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday night agreed to withdraw all troops from the Gaza area and cease anti-terrorist actions in return for a halt to terrorist attacks from the region.

However, at least one of the terrorist organizations denied a Hamas claim it agreed to the partial truce, which is to take effect at 6 a.m. Sunday (11 p.m. Saturday night EST). Prime Minister Olmert said Israel will abide by the truce so long as there are no violations by the PA.

Two days ago, the government rejected a proposal by terrorist organizations that they halt rocket fire, but not other terrorist attacks, in return for a total halt to counter-terrorist actions by Israel throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The latest Palestinian Authority (PA) offer includes a ban on suicide bombings and other attacks but only from the Gaza area, and it does not mention the smuggling of arms and terrorists. Israel's promise to stop retaliating against terrorists in the Gaza area also does not refer to similar activity in Judea and Samaria.

"After the zero hour, we are going to throw the ball into the Israeli court," said Khaled Abu Hilal, the Hamas Interior Minister. "A few hours after the zero hour, we will meet to evaluate the Israeli response."

Hilal said the agreement was coordinated with Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committee, as well as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The latter group, aligned with the rival Fatah faction of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, denied it was part of the deal.

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