Egypt, Hamas, PA confirm Gaza truce to start Thursday at 6 a.m.

A Hamas spokesman said Tuesday that his was committed to an Egyptian-mediated truce deal with Israel set to go into effect Thursday. Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas would commit to the "zero hour" declared by Egypt.

An official Egyptian statement released earlier Tuesday said the cease-fire would go into effect on Thursday at 6 a.m.

The MENA agency report cited an unnamed high-level Egyptian official as saying that both sides "have agreed on the first phase" of an Egyptian package to end the violence in the Strip.

It said the first phase was a "mutual and simultaneous calm" in the Gaza Strip which would start Thursday morning.

"Egypt hopes that the two sides will exert all efforts to bring the calm to a success," the agency quoted the official as saying.

A senior Palestinian Authority official confirmed that the agreement would go into effect on Thursday.

Israeli officials declined to confirm a deal, but voiced "cautious optimism" and said Israel's negotiator in the truce talks was rushing to Cairo.

"What is important is not only words but deeds," Regev said. "If there is a total absence of terror attacks from Gaza into Israel and if there is an end to arms buildup in Gaza Strip and movement on the hostage Gilad Schalit that will indeed be a new reality."

Defense officials, however, said they expected negotiations on Schalit to begin on Sunday, a tacit admission that a truce was in the works.

Earlier Tuesday, during a session of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC), IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that Israel was on a "collision course" with Hamas and that he adopted the stance of intelligence officials, who believed that a truce would be short and fragile.

"The IDF will respect a cease-fire but is also getting ready for a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip," Ashkenazi added.

IDF's Research Division Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz had told the FADC that in his estimation, Hamas intended to continue smuggling weapons into Gaza, irrespective of a truce, and that it would continue working to bolster terror infrastructure and use the cease-fire as a chance to regroup and rearm.

Meanwhile, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the truce would consist of three stages and Palestinian sources told the Arabic daily that the cease-fire would be in place for six months at first and would later include the West Bank as well.

According to the report, the first stage of the cease-fire would be implemented once Israel opens the Karni and Sufa crossings. During the second stage, which would start a week later, Israel would remove certain restrictions on the goods which are allowed into Gaza.

The third stage, set to start a week later, would include discussions on a new mechanism of operating the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Anyone taking wagers on how long this will last? For as long as Hamas wants it to. What is the upside for Israel, except that their craven leadership doesn't have to wage a necessary conflict to root out the fanatics of Gaza? Hamas will now rearm, restock and reload at its leisure. And then the rockets, and more, will begin again.

Ah, someone needs to rearm, no? That is their usual motivation.

2 posted on 06/17/2008 10:09:47 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (I tried to explain that I meant it as a compliment, but that only appears to have made things worse.)

Well thank God for this!! Now we can all go pick up hookers, smoke dope and let the good times roll!!

3 posted on 06/17/2008 10:11:18 AM PDT by stravinskyrules (Why is it that whenever I hear a piece of music I don't like, it's always by Villa-Lobos?)

Anyone taking wagers on how long this will last?

There can't possibly be anyone left that still thinks this is worthy of even trying. Good grief!

My guess that within 24 hours the cease fire will be broken and Israel shelled with Kassams...........

5 posted on 06/17/2008 10:19:09 AM PDT by ncfool (Hopefully we will see the birth certificate. Obama the Manchurian Candidate .)

In their language, I thinks it's a "hudna".

They'll be shooting each other again by 6 PM. Allah willing...

They will fire everything they have at 5:59 AM but, yeah, as soon as they can re-stock.

7 posted on 06/17/2008 10:26:12 AM PDT by Blogatron (Brought to you by The American Frog Council - "Frog; The other green meat.")

There can't possibly be anyone left that still thinks this is worthy of even trying.

Jimmy Carter's still breathing - kind of.

According to the report, the first stage of the cease-fire would be implemented once Israel opens the Karni and Sufa crossings. During the second stage, which would start a week later, Israel would remove certain restrictions on the goods which are allowed into Gaza.
The third stage, set to start a week later, would include discussions on a new mechanism of operating the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

OK ... and what, exactly, is Israel getting out of this?

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10 posted on 06/17/2008 10:52:15 AM PDT by SJackson (It is impossible to build a peace process based on blood, Natan Sharansky)

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