Israel has dismissed a proposal by Hamas to call a conditional six-month truce in the Gaza Strip, calling it a ruse aimed at allowing the Palestinian Islamist group to recover from recent fighting.
The Hamas offer, which followed talks with Egyptian mediators, departed from previous demands by the group that any ceasefire apply simultaneously in Gaza and the occupied West Bank where Palestinians want statehood.
Palestinians scavenge on a burning pile of rubbish on a residential street in Gaza City
Israel has been reluctant to enter any formal agreement that could shore up Hama against their West Bank-based rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as he pursues US-sponsored peace talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signaled flexibility last month by saying military attacks on Gaza would cease if its Hamas rulers stopped cross-border rocket salvoes.
"Israel is interested in peace. Unfortunately, Hamas is playing games. Hamas is biding time in order to rearm and regroup," David Baker, an Olmert spokesman, said today.
"There would be no need for Israel's defensive actions if Hamas would cease and desist from committing terrorist attacks on Israelis," Mr Baker said, in reference to Israeli air strikes and commando raids in Gaza. "Israel will continue to act to protect its citizens."
Though Mr Abbas has himself refused to talk to Hamas unless it first relinquishes Gaza, his administration voiced cautious support for the truce initiative. "We hope that this proposal is a serious one, and we hope it will be taken seriously by Israel," Abbas aide Nimer Hammad said.
Meanwhile, a gunman this morning killed two Israeli security guards at an industrial zone on the West Bank boundary close to Palestinian-ruled territory.
Searches were under way around the Netzanei Oz industrial zone on suspicion the assailant may have been a Palestinian militant, but authorities were not ruling out a criminal motive, Israel Radio reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any armed Palestinian factions.
