No truce until Hamas stops rockets-Israel's Peres

Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:09pm EST

(Adds background on militants, paragraph 10)

JERUSALEM, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Friday the Jewish state should not agree to a truce with Hamas unless the Islamist group first stops rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has stepped up incursions into Gaza to try to stop militants firing rockets and mortar bombs at southern Israeli towns and troops killed at least seven Palestinian gunmen in a ground and air raid on Thursday.

Hamas and medical workers said Israeli troops shot and killed a Hamas militant in the Gaza Strip on Friday during an exchange of fire near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was unaware of any activity by troops in the area at the time of the incident.

Nobel peace laureate Peres reiterated on Friday Israel should not negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June after clashes with President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, unless it first stopped the salvoes.

"The residents of Gaza are not our enemies and we have no joy when we see children suffering, but we can't ignore the fact that there is not a single Israeli in Gaza and despite this, Hamas continues firing rockets on our children," Peres said.

"The moment the rockets stop there will be no firing from Israel," said Peres, whose role is largely ceremonial, in a speech during a visit to an Israeli Arab town.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas relaunched peace talks last month after a seven year hiatus and vowed to try to reach a deal by the end of 2008. But Hamas has rejected the peace push and its control of Gaza could complicate talks.

Some media reports said recently that Israel was examining a ceasefire proposal from Hamas, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said he was not aware Israel was considering such a move and repeated that groups refusing to renounce violence were "not a party for any sort of dialogue".

Rockets fired by Gaza militants onto Israeli towns rarely cause damage or injury but spark widespread panic and disrupt daily life for residents and Olmert's government is facing increased pressure to take tougher action.

Most rockets are fired by militants from groups other than Hamas but Israel says the Islamist group has the power to stop the attacks. Hamas regularly launches mortar bombs into Israel.

Israel pulled troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005 but still controls its borders. Israel and the West refuse to negotiate with Hamas unless the Islamist group renounces violence and recognises the Jewish state.

Israel's Channel 2 television reported this week that Hamas's leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, was prepared to hold talks about a ceasefire with Israel. Haniyeh's aide denied the report, but reiterated a Hamas proposal for a reciprocal ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank.

Two Israeli government ministers earlier this week said they did not rule out third-party mediation with Hamas. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, Ori Lewis and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Rebecca Harrison; Editing by Peter Millership)



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