Assault on Gaza Strip Continues for Fifth Day as Rockets Fall on Southern Israel
JERUSALEM, Dec. 31 — Israeli leaders Wednesday rejected a proposal to pause attacks on the Gaza Strip for 48 hours, declaring that there were no guarantees Hamas fighters would in return stop firing rockets into Israel.
Discussions were continuing in hopes of developing a more durable cease-fire. But after looking at the existing proposal, “we saw that it did not contain the necessary elements to make the truce permanent,” said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. “It lacks a plan to enforce the cease-fire, to make sure Hamas won’t shoot rockets into Israel anymore, and stop the smuggling of weapons.”
“It does not contain any guarantees,” he added. “There is nothing in the proposal that if we declare a unilateral cease-fire it will mean anything to Hamas and that it will ensure a durable cease-fire afterwards.”
