Is Hamas interested in a truce with Israel? It depends on who you ask and which report you read.
Over the weekend, the London-based Arabic Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted a senior Hamas official who said the terrorist organization was "seriously" considering the possibility of a "hudna" – a truce – with Israel.
The unnamed source said the ceasefire would be unconditional. "There is a debate inside Hamas, and between Hamas and other factions about the hudna," he said. "We hope we will succeed."
Ahmed Yusuf, an aide to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, went further, saying Hamas was definitely willing to discuss a ceasefire with Israel, but denied it would be unconditional.
Yusuf was quoted by the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency on Saturday as saying "We don't oppose a calming... but there won't be a calming in exchange for nothing and it won't be unlimited."
He added that "rocket fire by all Palestinians will stop, Israeli air attacks in the Strip will stop and attacks and arrests will stop," and said that any deal reached between Hamas and Israel would commit all other Palestinian Authority groups "as long as this decision serves the supreme interests of the Palestinian people."
Other unnamed local sources backed up the claim, saying that Haniyeh and the powerful Damascus-based Hamas politburo chief, Khaled Mashaal, had expressed support for the idea. Several others were said to be adamantly opposed.
Fatah officials in Ramallah also reported that Hamas was talking about a ceasefire with Israel. Palestinian Authority Minister for Prisoners' Affairs, Ashraf al-Ajrami said "Very senior officials in Israel who are connected to the negotiations with Hamas have notified the [PA]…The Israelis said they were holding direct and indirect talks with Hamas about a truce because the Hamas leaders want to stay in power.
Other Hamas officials moved quickly to squelch the reports, accusing Israeli and Fatah media of "spreading lies" in order to create divisions within Hamas and among the terrorist gangs with whom it cooperates.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denied a report by Voice of Israel government radio that a draft proposal for a truce had already been prepared. "There is continuous Israeli aggression and there is resistance. The ball is still in Israel's court. It is up to [Israel] because when they stop all their aggressions we will then discuss the issue."
Another Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radwan told Channel 10 on Saturday, "These reports are completely unfounded. There is no room to talk about a tahdiyah (period of calm) or hudna while the Israeli aggression continues against the Palestinians and the Gaza Strip."
Radwan nonetheless expressed the ambivalence that other sources had described, adding "The enemy understands only the language of resistance. In any case, a hudna requires consensus from all Palestinian groups. But we are not optimistic about a hudna because the experiences of the past have shown that the enemy does not abide by them."
The comments reflect other reports that Hamas has indeed been discussing the idea with other terrorist organizations.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Nafez Azzam quickly denied the claim, however. "We don't think the priority should be talking about a truce. Talking about a truce should be directed first to the issue of the continuous killing and air strikes.
Azzam echoed Hamas's contention that Israeli military strikes in response to attacks on the western Negev preclude discussions of a ceasefire. "Truce is not on the table now in light of the Israeli aggression," he said.
A report by the Aljazeera network said however that Hamas has been pressuring Islamic Jihad to stop its daily Kassam rocket attacks on the western Negev.