Naftali Bennett
Naftali BennettIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The newly elected chairman of the religious Zionist Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett, warned Monday against attempts to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

"If there is truth in the report regarding negotiations with Hamas, be they direct or indirect, this is an abandonment of the residents of the South," Bennett said. "The government must not let the residents of the South dance toward the bomb shelters to the tune of Ehud Barak's flute.

"I call upon the Prime Minister to act resolutely against Hamas and to operate in accordance with the basic principles of his own government, which speak of tearing down Hamas, not negotiating with it.

"One does not talk to terror," he summed up. "One eliminates it."

Bennett's spokesman said that he was reacting to an item that appeared in Ynet, according to which Egyptian intelligence had drawn up agreements that were "acceptable to both Hamas and Israel." According to the unconfirmed report, Hamas has told Egypt that it is not interested in escalation with Israel.

The BBC in Arabic reported Sunday that a lull was supposed to begin at midnight. Earlier, the official Egyptian news agency said that Egypt was doing its best to secure an end to "attacks on Gaza."  Hamas and Islamic Jihad denied this report.