Israel rejects Palestinian offer to halt rocket fire
GAZA CITY, Nov 24: A proposal by Palestinian factions to stop rocket attacks in exchange for an end to Israeli offensives in Gaza and the West Bank was rejected as inadequate by Israel on Friday.
A Palestinian child and Hamas militant were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip just hours after a spokesman for the ultra-radical Islamic Jihad extended the offer, following an overnight meeting between rival factions.
Four Palestinian rockets also exploded inside Israel in ongoing attacks on Friday, causing damage to a commercial centre in the southern town of Sderot.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, head of the western-boycotted Hamas government, reiterated on Friday that Israeli offensives should end `in order to allow factions to stop’ rocket fire.
“There is a responsible Palestinian position and now the ball is in the Israeli court. They must stop aggressions and the escalation against the Palestinian people,” he told reporters after prayers in Gaza City.
But Israel was not playing ball, with government spokeswoman Miri Eisin describing it as a `partial ceasefire’ impossible to take seriously.
“The suggestion concerns a partial ceasefire, limited to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in exchange for a total halt to Israeli operations on all fronts. This is not serious,” she said.—AFP
