Israel Likely to Reject 48-Hour Cease-Fire Plan

Israel was expected on Wednesday to reject a proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire in its military onslaught in Gaza, saying it would keep up pressure on Hamas but was open to ways of increasing humanitarian aid.

With its punishing air attacks on Gaza in their fifth day, and with 10 more rockets fired by Hamas militants landing in southern Israel, including three in the city of Beersheba, Mark Regev, the spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the country’s leaders “view it as important to keep up the pressure on Hamas.”

“We cannot give them a respite to rearm and regroup. We need a real, sustainable solution, not a Band-Aid,” he said.

He and other officials said Israel was continuing to talk to American and European leaders on ways to build a longer-term cease-fire to end the fighting.

Read it all.

print
Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, Israel, Middle East, Violence