Cairo/United
Nations: Israel and Gaza
militant groups have agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr announced after the
deal was brokered by Cairo.
According to the ceasefire agreement, the two sides will stop
airstrikes and rocket attacks starting 9 p.m. Gaza time Wednesday
(1900 GMT), Xinhua reported.
Appreciating the efforts made by the UN, the Arab League, Qatar
and Turkey, Amr said Egypt was committed to its historical role in
the Palestinian issue, and that his country believes in the
necessity of a fair solution.
"Egypt calls the whole world to follow what has been achieved
under the Egyptian mediation, to guarantee that both sides are
committed to the agreement," he was quoted as saying.
Amr announced the ceasefire at a press conference with visiting US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after their meeting in Cairo.
Clinton arrived in Cairo Wednesday to hold meetings with Egyptian
President Mohamed Morsi and other officials.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that a ceasefire
agreement has been reached with the Palestinian militant groups in
Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken Tuesday with US
President Barack Obama and assured him that Israel would "give the
Egyptian ceasefire agreement a chance".
By accepting the truce offer, Israel is "giving a chance to
stabilize the region before there is a need to execute excessive
force", the prime minister's office said.
"Netanyahu has repeatedly said and stressed that Israel will take
any step necessary to protect its citizens," it said.
The understandings related to the ceasefire agreement include:
1. Israel stops all aggressive actions on Gaza, from the sea, the
ground and the air, including incursions and targeted killing of
people.
2. Palestinian factions and armed wings stop all aggressive
actions from the Gaza Strip on Israel, including rockets and
attacks on the borderline between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
3. Opening crossing points and facilitating the movement of
individuals and goods, and not restricting the movement of
residents or targeting them near border areas. This should be
implemented after 24 hours of the agreement becoming valid.
4. Each side would be committed not to carry unilateral action to
violate these understandings. In case there are any observations,
Egypt, as the sponsor of this agreement, shall be noted to follow
up.
Ceasefire
hailed
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and top leaders of the European
Union (EU) hailed the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and the
Hamas, and commended Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi for his
efforts.
Briefing the UN Security Council via video link from the Tel Aviv
airport, Ban said: "I warmly welcome today's ceasefire
announcement. I commend the parties for stepping back from the
brink and I commend President Morsi of Egypt for his exceptional
leadership."
The secretary-general was visiting the Middle East region to push
for an early end to the week-long hostilities, Xinhua reported.
The Israel-Hamas conflict reportedly killed more than 140
Palestinians and at least five Israelis, and left about 1,000
others injured on both sides.
"Our focus now must be on ensuring the ceasefire holds and that
all those in need in Gaza - and there are many - receive the
humanitarian assistance they need," Ban said.
"It's a huge relief for the people of Gaza and Israel, and for the
international community, that the violence is stopping."
Leaders of the EU hailed the ceasefire soon after it was
proclaimed.
"We welcome wholeheartedly the cease-fire that has just been
proclaimed in Gaza and that was being strongly called for by the
European Union and the international community," said a statement
jointly issued by the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy
and the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Head of the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haneya,
in a statement emailed to the media, said he was proud of the
Palestinian people's steadfastness and their armed resistance.
"We congratulate our people for this victory, as the Palestinian
people and their resistance proved an ability of steadfastness,
creation and courage," said Haneya.
In Beirut, head of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah, said the "victory of Palestinians in Gaza was
natural and expected", the official National News Agency reported.
"The ceasefire declaration between Israel and Gaza was an end to
the Israeli aggression and a victory for the Palestinian
resistance," the NNA quoted Nasrallah as saying in a televised
speech.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a statement published by
the official news agency Wafa, Abbas said he supports the
agreement "to stop the bloodshed of our people and to put an end
to the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza".
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