step up security measures to protect its citizens against "the Palestinian government of terror" following a suicide blast that killed three people.
A senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar, who is foreign minister, said the ceasefire would come into effect from 0300 local time (0100 GMT), news reports said. Fighting between militants linked to Hamas, the ruling party, and President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah has left more than 30 people dead in the past few days.
However before the announcement was made, Israel made clear it would not rush to restart negotiations with the Palestinian authorities who it indirectly blamed for involvement in the "vicious terrorist attack" Monday, January 29 in Eilat, a resort town on the Red Sea.
In a statement to BosNewsLife, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the attack was "further proof of the unceasing planning and execution of terrorist acts against Israel’s civilian population."
PALESTINIAN CHANCE
It said that, "hoping to give the Palestinians a chance to fulfill their international obligations to reorganize their internal politics and to combat terrorism," Israel had "shown extraordinary restraint over many months, despite constant Kassam rocket attacks against its citizens in Ashdod, Ashkelon and other communities in the area."
The ministry said that, "the Palestinian government is a government of terror headed by a terrorist organization. The international community is duty bound to continue exerting pressure on the Hamas government." The ministry added that, "Israel will continue to act to protect its citizens," an indirect reference to possible military actions.
It was unclear Monday, January 29, wet her the announced ceasefire by rival Palestinian groups would lead to a more moderate unity government and end the worst violence since Hamas came to power in 2006.
However Zahar reportedly said after talks between Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas and a senior aide to Abbas in the Gaza Strip that all sides agreed to take all gunmen off the streets of Gaza and remove checkpoints that had sprung up in many places. (With BosNewsLife reporting and reports from Gaza).
