Associated Press 
January 17, 2009
                  
Israel implemented a unilateral cease-fire early Sunday in its 22-day
offensive that turned Gaza neighborhoods into battlegrounds and dealt
a stinging blow to the Islamic militants of Hamas. But Israeli troops
will stay in the Palestinian territory for now and Hamas threatened to
keep fighting until they leave.

In announcing the cease-fire late Saturday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
said Israel had achieved its goals and more.

"Hamas was hit hard, in its military arms and in its government
institutions. Its leaders are in hiding and many of its men have been
killed," Olmert said.

Israel launched the offensive on Dec. 27 to stop years of rocket fire
from Gaza at southern Israeli towns. But the rockets did not stop
coming throughout the assault. Militants fired about 30 rockets into
Israel on Saturday, eight of them around the time Olmert spoke.

More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive, about
half of them civilians, according to Palestinian and U.N. officials.
At least 13 Israelis have also been killed.

According to Olmert's statement, the cease-fire went into effect at 2
a.m. local time (7 p.m. EST). The military warned in a statement early
Sunday that attacks on soldiers or civilians "will be met with a harsh
response."

If Hamas holds its fire, the military "will weigh pulling out of Gaza
at a time that befits us," Olmert said. If not, Israel "will continue
to act to defend our residents."

Israel's insistence on keeping troops in Gaza raises the specter of a
stalemate with Hamas, which has insisted that it will not respect any
cease-fire until Israel pulls out of the territory, with a population
of 1.4 million.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum in Gaza said a unilateral cease-fire was
not enough to end Hamas' resistance - echoing the stance taken earlier
by Hamas leaders in exile.

"The occupier must halt his fire immediately and withdraw from our
land and lift his blockade and open all crossings and we will not
accept any one Zionist soldier on our land, regardless of the price
that it costs," Barhoum said.

In the hours leading up to the vote by the 12-member Security Cabinet,
and even as they met, Israel kept bombarding Gaza.

Earlier Saturday in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, Israeli shells
struck a U.N. school where 1,600 people had sought shelter. One shell
scored a direct hit on the top floor of the three-story building,
killing two boys, U.N. officials said.

Gaza militants launched eight rockets into Israel around the time
Olmert announced the cease-fire, the Israeli military said. There were
no reports of casualties. Five long-range Grad rockets exploded near
the city of Beersheba in the hour after Olmert's televised address,
Israel Radio reported.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni indicated that Israel would renew its
offensive if Hamas militants continued to fire rockets at Israel.

"This campaign is not a one-time event," she said in an interview with
the Israeli YNet news Web site. "The test will be the day after. That
is the test of deterrence."

Palestinians reacted with skepticism and called on world leaders
attending a summit planned for Sunday in Egypt to put pressure on
Israel to withdraw immediately.

"We had hoped that the Israeli announcement would be matched by total
cessation of hostilities and the immediate withdrawal of Israeli
forces from Gaza," said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival. "I am afraid that the presence
of the Israeli forces in Gaza means that the cease fire will not
stand."

The cease-fire vote comes just days ahead of Barack Obama's
inauguration as president on Tuesday. Outgoing Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration welcomed Israel's
decision and said the ultimate goal remains a lasting truce that is
fully respected and will return peace to Gaza.

The summit set for Sunday in Egypt is meant to give international
backing to the cease-fire. Leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Britain,
Italy, Turkey and the Czech Republic - which holds the rotating EU
presidency - are expected to attend along with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.N. chief Ban.

It was not immediately clear whether Israel would send a
representative, and Hamas has not been invited.

During its campaign, Israel said it destroyed roughly 60 percent of
the hundreds of tunnels under the eight-mile Egypt-Gaza border.

As it seeks a longer-term solution, Israel signed a deal Friday in
Washington in which the United States agreed to commit detection and
surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to
Israel, Egypt and other nations to monitor Gaza's land and sea
borders.

But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Saturday that his
country would not be bound by the agreement. Egypt's cooperation is
essential if the smuggling is to be stopped.

As Israel's Security Cabinet met Saturday evening, airstrikes
continued. Walls shook and windows trembled in the southern Gaza
border town of Rafah as fighter jets soared above head, apparently
focusing their missiles on the no man's land with Egypt where many
suspected smuggling tunnels lie.

But all was quiet after Olmert's announcement for the first time in
three weeks, residents said, giving them a chance to sleep.

A total of 13 Palestinians were killed in battles throughout Gaza
Saturday, Palestinian medics said.

John Ging, the top U.N. official in Gaza, condemned the attack on Beit
Lahiya that killed the two boys - the latest in a series of Israeli
shellings that have struck U.N. installations.

"The question that has to be asked is for all those children and all
those innocent people who have been killed in this conflict. Were they
war crimes? Were they war crimes that resulted in the deaths of the
innocents during this conflict? That question has to be answered," he
said.

The Israeli army said it was launching a high-level investigation into
the shelling, as well as four other attacks that hit civilian targets,
including the U.N. headquarters in Gaza. The army investigation also
includes the shelling of a hospital, a media center and the home of a
well-known doctor.

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