OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies)
Israel on Friday dismissed as "not serious" a Hamas proposal for a six-month truce in Gaza that could later extend to the occupied West Bank, as a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli security guards at an industrial zone on the West Bank boundary.
"Unfortunately, this appears not to be serious at all," government spokesman Mark Regev said after the Islamist movement told Egypt it agreed to implement a ceasefire in Gaza that could be extended to the West Bank within six months.
Regev said that Hamas continued to target Israel and build up its military capacity. "The quiet they seem to be proposing is the quiet before the storm," he said.
The announcement from Hamas was a concession, because the group was previously demanding a cease-fire that would include the West Bank as well.
On the ground, Israeli military officials said searches were under way for a Palestinian assailant in and around the Netzanei Oz industrial zone, across the boundary from the Palestinian-ruled town of Tulkarm.
"A Palestinian shot dead two guards at the security-check area at the entrance to the industrial zone," a military spokeswoman said.
"We are treating this as a terrorist attack. It may have come from the outside, but there are also hundreds of Palestinians who work at Netzanei Oz."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any armed Palestinian factions. |
