Israel, Hamas up rhetoric as truce nears expiry

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Source: AFP

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel and Hamas ratcheted up the rhetoric on Monday ahead of the expiry of a six-month Gaza truce which the Islamist rulers of the Palestinian enclave say they are unlikely to renew.

Top Israeli officials say the government is interested in continuing the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire but also warned that it would not hesitate to use force if attacked by militants.

"If the lull continues, Israel will respect it. If the opposite occurs, we will react... with the appropriate military means," Amos Gilad, an advisor to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, told public radio.

He dismissed Hamas' claim that the truce, which went into effect on June 19, ends this week.

"When we accepted a lull six months ago it was clearly understood that there was no end date," said Gilad, who had conducted the negotiations for the Egyptian-mediated truce. "For Israel, the date December 19 has no significance," he added.

Gilad visited Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian mediators but denied having gone there specifically to discuss extending the truce, which has been shaken by a flare-up in violence around Gaza since early November.

The trip drew criticism from several of the Israeli government's more hawkish ministers who are demanding tougher responses to rocket attacks from Gaza.

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