US and Israel agree Gaza deal

Livni said the memorandum was a "vitalcomponent" towards a ceasefire [Reuters]
Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and her US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, have signed an agreement aimed at preventing arms smuggling into Gaza for the Palestinian group Hamas.
Livni, who travelled to Washington DC, the US capital, on Friday for the signing, said both sides had agreed on a "series of actions" in the memorandum of understanding to halt weapons smuggling.
Rice said at the signing ceremony that the move, coupled with other current international diplomatic efforts, would "contribute to a durable ceasefire".
Livni said that the memorandum was "a vital component for the cessation of hostilities" and that Israel had shown restraint for years under Hamas rocket attacks.
However, she said Hamas had held "Gaza hostage" and had to pay "a high price for terror".
More than 1,100 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have died since the Israeli offensive began on December 27.
Ceasefire efforts
Rice said Israel was planning to pursue similar such bilateral agreements over arms smuggling with "our European colleagues".
She also insisted that the US was continuing to work on "as quick a timeline as we possibly can" to support current Egyptian efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza.
However she also told journalists that a US timeline for the ceasefire "is not important" when asked if a ceasefire could be achieved before Barack Obama, the US president-elect, takes over power from George Bush next Tuesday.
Senior officials from the US and Israel have been in repeated contact in recent days over the Gaza crisis, including a phone conversation between Rice and Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, on Thursday.

Israel 'set to halt war on Gaza' : Qatar, Mauritania cut Israel ties

Israel 'set to halt war on Gaza'

Israeli forces began their assault on the Gaza Strip saying it was aimed at ending rocket attacks [AFP]
Israel's security cabinet is expected to decide to halt the war on Gaza at a meeting on Saturday, Israeli sources have said.
The move would be seen as being preferable to entering an Egyptian-brokered formal ceasefire with Hamas, unnamed sources told the AFP and Reuters news agencies.
The 21-day-old conflict has left more than 1,150 Palestinians dead, at least a third of them children, and devastated infrastructure within the densely populated territory.
"The security cabinet will convene and that is where a decision will be made," Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, told Israel's Channel 10 television when asked if the government would end the conflict."I have said the end doesn't have to be in agreement with Hamas, but rather in arrangements against Hamas."
A unilateral ceasefire would allow Israel to avoid agreeing concessions with Hamas, such as easing the blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has prevented medical aid and basic supplies reaching the Palestinians.Egyptian effortsAl Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from the Israel-Gaza border, said that a unilateral truce would play well to the domestic audience as parliamentary elections approach.
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"The Israeli government can say there was no deal with Hamas, they are not doing this as part of any negotiations with what they regard as a 'terrorist' group," he said.
An unnamed Israeli official reportedly told the AFP news agency that Israeli troops would remain in Gaza in the event of any such ceasefire being called."If they [Hamas] decide to open fire, we will not hesitate to respond and continue the offensive," the official was quoted as saying.Israel's stated aim of the war, which it dubbed Operation Cast Lead, was to halt Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Egypt has been pushing Israel and the rival Palestinian factions to reach a deal that was expected to see an immediate ceasefire and an agreement over security arrangements for Gaza's crossings.A Hamas delegation from the Syrian capital Damascus arrived to Cairo on Friday for a second round of talks on a ceasefire proposal.Their return followed a meeting between Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli envoy, and Omar Suleiman, Egypt's intelligence chief.Earlier this week, Hamas proposed a one-year renewable ceasefire in return for an end to the Israeli blockade, which has been in place since the group seized full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007."We want guarantees that the crossings will remain open. If Israel accepts the principle of guarantees, then we will start talking about their details," Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Beirut, said.Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said: "We have seen unilateral moves by Israel, whether it be in Lebanon in 2006 or Gaza in 2005 "Those unilateral decisions simply compound the problem, simply delay the problem, but they never resolve the problem."I think this is because Israel has run out of options. It realises Israel couldn't deliver what it needs, Hamas wouldn't agree to its conditions and it realises more of the same, the same shelling, the same bombardment ... is making people in Israel think twice about how to continue."Israeli bombardmentHowever, as reports of the possible ceasefire emerged, the Israeli military continued to pound targets across the Gaza Strip. At least 10 people attending a funeral wake died when Israeli forces destroyed a house in Gaza City.
At least 1,155 Palestinians have been killed during the 21 days of Israel's offensive [AFP]Earlier, a woman and her five children, all under the age of 13, were killed when an air raid destroyed their house in Jabaliya, north of Gaza City, according to medics.Hatem Shurrab, a Gaza resident living near Tar al-Hawa in Gaza City, which has experienced some of the heaviest fighting, told Al Jazeera that regular explosions could still be heard.
"I have my sister's family who came to our home to shelter. It's very difficult to describe how we feel. It's very scary. The next target is not known. Who will be killed next, we don't know.
"I can hear explosions going around and a couple of hundreds of metres away a home was burnt close to the explosions.
"What is really painful for me is that I see every day people who are being displaced. Mass internal displacement. Women running in the street trying to find a place."
Meanwhile, a funeral was held for Said Siam, the interior minister in Hamas's government, who was assassinated on Thursday along with one of his sons and a brother in an air raid in Jabaliya refugee camp.

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Qatar, Mauritania cut Israel ties
Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, also called for Arab nations to cut ties with Israel [AFP]
Qatar and Mauritania have suspended economic and political ties with Israel in protest against the war in Gaza, Al Jazeera has learned.
The move announced on Friday followed calls by Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, and Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, for all Arab nations to cut ties with Israel.
Addressing leaders at an emergency Arab summit in Doha, the Qatari capital, al-Assad declared that the Arab initiative for peace with Israel was now "dead".
He said Arab countries should cut "all direct and indirect" ties with Israel in protest against its offensive in Gaza.
His comments echoed those of Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, who also called on all Arab states to cut ties with Israel.
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries who have signed peace treaties with Israel and have Israeli embassies.
Summit demands
The Qatari-hosted Arab summit concluded Friday with participants agreeing to present a Kuwaiti-hosted summit - to be held on Sunday - with a list of measures to end the conflict in Gaza.
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Those measures include demanding that Israel stops its offensive in the Strip, is held responsible for "crimes" committed in Gaza and immediately re-opens all border crossings.
The summit also agreed that all Arab countries should form a "sea-bridge" that would enable aid supplies to reach Gaza.
Speaking from Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, said Israel should be barred from the United Nations while it continues to ignore UN demands to end the fighting in Gaza.
"How is such a country, which totally ignores and does not implement resolutions of the UN Security Council, allowed to enter through the gates of the UN?" he said.
Erdogan's comments came hours ahead of Friday's official visit to Turkey by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general.
The Turkish leader also added his voice to widespread condemnation of Israel's bombing of a UN compound in Gaza on Thursday.
"The UN building in Gaza was hit while the UN secretary general was in Israel... this is an open challenge to the world, teasing the world," he said.
Diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire have intensified over recent days with emergency meetings being held in Qatar, Turkey, Kuwait and Egypt.
Arab divisions
However, Friday's emergency summit in Doha has highlighted divisions within the Arab world, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia declining to attend, preferring instead to send delegates to a separate meeting of foreign ministers in Kuwait.
The Palestinian political factions Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are also at the Doha summit.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Doha, said the delegates in Qatar recognise the legitimacy of the Gazan factions, whereas Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Western nations have sidelined them from ceasefire talks.
"You have two camps: The so-called moderate Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, some Gulf monarchies like the UAE, and those who are trying to say that we totally disagree with the US attempt to implement a new Middle East."
Qatar summit: Key points
The following demands will be taken to Sunday's Kuwait summit for pan-Arab approval:

- Strong condemnation of Israel
- Israel withdraws from Gaza
- Legal liability for Gaza "crimes"
- Re-opening of crossings
- "Sea-bridge" to supply Gaza
- Assist Palestinian reconciliation
- Establish Gaza rebuilding fundAhelbarra said the "moderate camp" is uncomfortable with Hamas's ties with Iran and suspects that the Iranian leadership is using some Arab countries to further its influence in the region.
He said that the latter group believes it has the duty to convey the anti-war feeling of the Arab street and condemn Israel's actions.
Talks are continuing in Cairo over an Egypt-sponsored truce, with Amos Gilad, the Israeli chief negotiator, telling Egyptian officials Israel wants an open-ended ceasefire.
Israel is demanding that rocket fire from Gaza ceases and that an international force is established to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Hamas want Israeli troops to be withdrawn from the Gaza Strip immediately and for all border crossings into the territory to be permanently re-opened.
While Israel says it reserves the right to use military action if under threat, its emergency security cabinet is expected to vote on Saturday in favour of a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, according to news agency AFP.
By Friday morning, 1,155 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,200 injured since Israel launched its offensive on December 27. One

third of the dead are children

Fatal shooting at West Bank protest

Fatal shooting at West Bank protest
Hamas called for a "day of wrath" in the West Bank over Israel's war on Gaza [AFP]
A Palestinian has been shot dead and several others wounded after Israeli security forces opened fire during a protest in the West Bank against Israel's war in Gaza.
The man died after being shot in the head when clashes broke in the West Bank town of Hebron on Friday, medics and witnesses said.
Israeli soldiers had opened fire with live ammunition and rubber bullets after youths throwing stones had apparently tried to march towards the Israeli-controlled area of the city, witnesses said.Several other Palestinians were reportedly wounded in the clashes, which came after Hamas called earlier in the week for a "day of wrath" on Friday in response to Israeli offensive in Gaza.
The Israeli military declared on Thursday that the West Bank would be closed off for 48 hours, but demonstrators still gathered in towns across the occupied territory.In the town of Jenin, taxi drivers gathered in their vehicles to call for an end to the Israeli offensive which has already killed more than 1,130 Palestinians.Protests have been held across the world every day since the aerial bombardment began on December 27.Kuwait protestIn Kuwait on Friday, more than 5,000 people chanted slogans in support of the Palestinian Hamas movement after Friday prayers before marching to the parliament building."Arabs should use oil and their huge wealth to secure an end to the bloodshed," Nasser al-Sane, a Kuwaiti MP, told the gathering.
"It is shameful that they [Arab leaders] are holding a summit while there are Israeli flags still flying in Arab countries."Up to 2,000 Palestinian refugees gathered at the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, the Syrian capital, trampling Israeli flags and chanting slogans against the Gaza conflict.Indian police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Kashmir, while in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, some protesters urged Muslim nations to send troops to Gaza.

At least 346 children! 1,133 Palestinians !5,200 woundedù

Relative calm descends on Gaza
The Palestinian death toll reached 1,133 people on Friday morning [AFP]
Gazans have woken to a relatively quiet day as the Israeli assault on the territory entered its 21st day.
Explosions were still heard, with Israeli officials saying they had struck 40 "targets" before dawn on Friday.
Since Israel started its bombardment of Gaza, 1,133 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,200 wounded, according to Gaza medics.
At least 346 children are among the dead.
Israel says 10 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed in the same period, and an Israeli government spokesman indicated that the end of the three-week-old offensive may be close.
The news agency AFP reported that at least 23 bodies were pulled from the rubble in Gaza City and its environs on Friday morning.
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Al Jazeera's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Ayman Mohyeldin, reported that there could be further Israeli deployments to the former settlement of Netzarim on Friday and that the military had pulled back from Tal al-Hawa.
Despite the relative lull, shelling continued and residents said they are still living in fear, uncertain where Israel would strike next.
Hatem Shurrab, a Gaza resident living near Tar al-Hawa in Gaza City, which has experienced some of the heaviest fighting, told Al Jazeera on Friday morning:
"I have my sister's family who came to our home to shelter. It's very difficult to describe how we feel. It's very scary. The next target is not known. Who will be killed next, we don't know.
"I can hear explosions going around and a couple of hundreds of metres away a home was burnt close to the explosions.
"What is really painful for me is that I see every day people who are being displaced. Mass internal displacement. Women running in the street trying to find a place."
Meanwhile, clashes erupted between Palestinian fighters and Israeli troops in the southeastern Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Renewed diplomacy
Diplomatic efforts appeared to intensify on Friday, a day after some of the heaviest fighting so far.
Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, is to meet Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, in Washington to discuss an American-Israeli agreement to prevent weapons smuggling.
Palestinians carry the body of Said Siam during the funeral on Friday [Reuters]An Israeli envoy was also sent to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to discuss ceasefire terms offered by Hamas.
Israel's bombardment of three hospitals and a UN compound on Thursday prompted international outrage as urgently needed food and medical supplies were destroyed. The damage renewed calls for a ceasefire to be adhered to immediately.
Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), said "tens of millions of dollars worth of aid" had been destroyed in the UN complex.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, justified the shelling by saying armed Palestinians within the compound had fired at Israeli troops. The Unrwa denied the claim.
On Friday, the UN said it planned to resume operations in whatever capacity it could following the attack.
Economic costs
A funeral is being held for Said Siam, the interior minister in Hamas's government assassinated on Thursday along with one of his sons and a brother in an air raid in Jabaliya refugee camp.
Mohyeldin said the killing highlighted Israel's intelligence capacity as well as its military might.
"Hamas's leadership, aware that this type of attack was going to take place, points to other leaders - much more high profile and much more influential - such as Sheikh Ahmed Yasin and Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi, both killed by Israel in 2005," he said.
"That only gave the movement momentum and gave it a grassroots flourishment. Some have already speculated that Hamas will only be strengthened by this."
Aside from the human cost, the Palestinian Statistics Bureau also reported on Friday that the war has cost the Palestinian economy at least $1.4bn.
The bureau said 26,000 Gazans were unable to live in their homes and were being housed in temporary shelter.
Much of Gaza's infrastructure lies in ruins. The statistics show that 20,000 residential buildings are damaged and 4,000 more destroyed.
Mohyeldin added: "The other question will be: How does the government try to maintain any type of law and order with its entire security infrastructure decimated? There are no police stations, no more civil defence or basic security services in Gaza, so it is something of a lawless state."
Palestinian factions within Gaza claim they are still able to fire rockets, despite Israel's stated aim that the Gaza assault would disarm them.

News Middle East

News Middle East
Syria: 'Cut all ties with Israel'
Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, also called for Arab nations to cut ties with Israel [AFP]
Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has urged all Arab nations to sever diplomatic ties with Israel because of the Gaza war.
Addressing leaders at Friday's emergency Arab summit in Doha, the Qatari capital, al-Assad declared that the Arab initiative for peace with Israel was now "dead".
Al-Assad said Arab countries should cut "all direct and indirect" ties with Israel in protest against its offensive in Gaza.
"Syria has decided that indirect peace negotiations with Israel will be halted," he said.
His comments were echoed by Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Meshaal also called on Arab leaders to cut all ties with Israel, stressing Hamas would not accept Israeli conditions for a ceasefire.
Ceasefire offer
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Hamas has proposed a year-long, renewable ceasefire if Israel immediately ends its offensive in Gaza and lifts its crippling blockade of the territory.
Israel wants to ensure that Hamas, and other Palestinian fighters, will not be able to re-arm during any truce.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, told delegates Israel should be barred from the United Nations while it continues to ignore UN demands to end the fighting in Gaza.
"How is such a country, which totally ignores and does not implement resolutions of the UN Security Council, allowed to enter through the gates of the UN?" he said.
Erdogan's comments came hours ahead of Friday's official visit to Turkey by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general.
The Turkish leader also added his voice to widespread condemnation of Israel's bombing of a UN compound in Gaza on Thursday.
"The UN building in Gaza was hit while the UN secretary general was in Israel... this is an open challenge to the world, teasing the world," he said.
Diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire have intensified over recent days with emergency meetings being held in Qatar, Turkey, Kuwait and Egypt.
The UN secretary-general also visited the West Bank on Friday and Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, is flying to the US for talks.
Arab divisions
However, Friday's emergency Arab summit in Doha, the Qatari capital, has highlighted the divisions within the Arab world, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia declining to attend, preferring instead to send delegates to a meeting of foreign ministers in Kuwait.
Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, admitted on Friday that the Arab nation's reaction to the war on Gaza was "in a very big chaos".
The Palestinian political factions Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are also at the Doha summit.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Doha, said the delegates in Qatar recognise the legitimacy of the Gazan factions, whereas Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Western nations have sidelined them from ceasefire talks.
"You have two camps: The so-called moderate Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, some Gulf monarchies like the UAE, and those who are trying to say that we totally disagree with the US attempt to implement a new Middle East."
Ahelbarra said the "moderate camp" is uncomfortable with Hamas's ties with Iran and suspects that the Iranian leadership is using some Arab countries to further its influence in the region.
Ceasefire conditions
Israel:
- International force to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza

Palestine:
- Immediate halt to offensive
- Full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza
- Re-open all crossing points into Gaza
- Lift Gazan economic siegeHe said that the latter group believes it has the duty to convey the anti-war feeling of the Arab street and condemn Israel's actions.
Talks are continuing in Cairo over an Egypt-sponsored truce, with Amos Gilad, the Israeli chief negotiator, telling Egyptian officials Israel wants an open-ended ceasefire.
Israel is demanding that rocket fire from Gaza ceases and that an international force is established to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Livni, due to arrive in Washington DC on Friday, will meet Condoleezza Rice, the outgoing US secretary of state, to discuss a potential US role in stopping weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
By Friday morning 1,133 Palestinians had been killed since Israel launched its offensive on December 27.