Hamas Refuses to Comply With Terms of Truce

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Hamas Refuses to Comply With Terms of Truce

Hamas say it will continue to smuggle arms into Gaza even as it stocks up on humanitarian aid.

Israel and Hamas entered into an Egyptian-brokered truce last Wednesday that is designated to last for six months. Under the terms of this truce, Israel will stop its attacks on terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza and increase the flow of goods into the Gaza Strip if Hamas will stop launching rockets into southern Israel and smuggling arms into Gaza. Israel has also stipulated that Israeli Corp. Galid Shalit be released.

For Israel’s part, it has ceased all attacks against Hamas and has so far allowed dozens of additional trucks filled with food, diapers, clothes and other humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israeli military spokesman Gil Karie reports that 90 truckloads of supplies were transferred from Israeli to Palestinian vehicles at a Gaza crossing on Sunday alone. This is up from the 60 to 70 truckloads a day before the truce.

On Hamas’s part, only the rocket attacks have stopped. Ismail Haniya, de facto head of Gaza’s government, said on Friday that arms smuggling into Gaza will not stop despite the fact that there is a truce. Hamas officials have also affirmed that they will not agree to release Corporal Shalit until Israel releases 450 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan reiterated on Saturday that negotiations with Israel are out of the question and that Hamas will never recognize the Zionist enemy.

Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip one year ago, it is estimated that Israel has sent 580,000 tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza. If this total were divided evenly among Gaza’s 1.4 million residents, a typical family of five would have already received more than 2 tons of food and supplies. During this same period, Hamas has smuggled over 100 tons of explosives into Gaza.

Israel is acting like a beggar for peace. No amount of aid the Olmert administration sends, however, will be able to buy peace. This is because the conflict at hand is not about food or aid; it is about a dangerous Islamic ideology that would deny Israelis the right to even breathe Middle Eastern air. For Hamas, this truce is a temporary respite it can utilize to stock up on arms and Israeli aid. As soon as the truce ends, Hamas will resume its struggle to drive the Israelis into the sea with new arms and new vigor.

For more information on Hamas’s relationship with Israel, read “Hamas Still Biting the Hand That Feeds Them” by Stephen Flurry.