Israel minister rules out reaching truce with Hamas

Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin has ruled out the possibility of reaching a long-term truce with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“I rule out the possibility of reaching a settlement with the Hamas terrorist movement, and if it happens, it will last for a short period of time,” Levin said in an interview with Israeli Radio station Makan yesterday.

The minister, a member of the ruling Likud Party, said the Israeli authorities are not interested in resorting to military measures as long as solutions can be found, stressing that “the military option is always present but as a last resort”.

Palestinians are starved for not ceding their land, says ElBaradei

Meanwhile, MK Amir Peretz of the Zionist Union said Israel should set Hamas three conditions: “There is no agreement in the Gaza Strip without the Palestinian Authority, the return of Israelis held in the Gaza Strip and the demilitarisation of Gaza in return for reconstruction.”

Egypt, Qatar, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nikolay Mladenov, and other international parties are seeking to reach a ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel that will ease the siege imposed by Israel on the enclave for more than 11 years, implement projects for vital sectors like health, electricity, sewage and water, increase the fishing area and reopen the crossings.