Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is ready to sign a truce over Gaza if Israel agrees to a ceasefire and lifts its blockade, the foreign ministry said here on Monday.
| Which is what they were demanding before: Israel opens the border and doesn't shoot, whereas the various Paleo splinter factions, none 'controlled' by Hamas, continue to fire rockets at Sderot. |
"The Hamas leader said he was ready to sign such a deal in a place chosen by the parties by mutual consent" in a phone call to Senegalese President Abdoullaye Wade late Sunday, the ministry said.
According to the ministry Wade offered a proposal for an "immediate way out of the crisis."
"It is about getting a definite truce between Hamas and Israel by signing an accord that would oblige Hamas to observe an immediate ceasefire in exchange for an Israeli immediate ceasefire accompanied by a total lifting of the blockade of the Gaza strip," it said.
On Saturday Israel unleashed a massive bombardment on Hamas targets in Gaza, that has reportedly killed more than 310 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,400 others. In retaliation Meshaal on Saturday called for a new intifada against Israel, including a return to suicide missions.
Wade spoke with Meshaal at 2100 GMT on Sunday in his capacity as the president of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the ministry here said late Sunday |