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               Hamas Says No Deal With Israel on Extending Truce

   by VOA News

   The Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza Strip says it will not
   extend a 72-hour cease-fire with Israel, which is set to expire early
   Friday.

   Shortly before the truce formally ended at 8:00 a.m. local time, senior
   Hamas officials said indirect talks with Israel in Cairo had not
   succeeded.

   Hamas officials also denied Israeli allegations that its Gaza militants
   violated the cease-fire by sending rockets into Israel early Friday.

   The Israeli military said two rockets from Gaza landed in southern
   Israel. No injuries were reported as a result of the rocket fire.

   Officials from Hamas and Israel have been holding indirect talks in
   Egypt in an attempt to extend the 72-hour cease-fire, which is set to
   end at 8 a.m. Friday, local time.

   Both sides have warned they are ready to resume fighting if provoked,
   and they appear far apart on the terms for extending the humanitarian
   truce.

   Israeli officials have said they are willing to unilaterally extend the
   cease-fire if necessary.

   The cease-fire brought an end to four weeks of fighting that killed
   nearly 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Sixty-four Israeli
   soldiers and three civilians also were killed.

   Hamas is demanding that Israel lift its blockade of a Gaza seaport,
   which has choked the Gazan economy and kept Palestinians from
   traveling.

   Israel is insisting that Hamas disarm.

   Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told CNN television that if the
   war starts up again, it will be clear who is responsible for the
   violence and carnage.

   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli action is
   justified.  He called every civilian casualty a tragedy, but one of
   Hamas' own making, saying the militant group fires weapons and puts
   fighters among the civilian population.

   President Barack Obama says Gaza cannot sustain itself and is not
   capable of providing jobs and economic growth.  He says the territory
   cannot remain permanently closed off from the world.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/hamas-says-no-deal-with-israel-on-ext
   ending-truce/2406827.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/hamas-says-no-deal-with-israel-on-extending-truce/2406827.html