Smash hit

In Cairo yesterday, a Hamas delegation met with Egyptian mediators to discuss a ceasefire proposal with Israel.

Following the meeting, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said that a successful end was in sight:

"The talks under way in Egypt on calm are nearing an end, an end that would bring about what the Palestinian people aspire to - a lifting of the siege, the opening of the crossings and an end to the aggression.”

"We are committed to these demands ... A reciprocal and simultaneous calm that begins in Gaza and then extends to the West Bank," Haniyeh said.

A few hours later, Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip a year ago from the rival Fatah movement, said it fired a rocket into the Israeli city of Ashkelon, slightly wounding one Israeli.

Such actions jeopardize the ceasefire talks, said Israeli officials, who insist that Gaza militants completely halt attacks on Israel before the ceasefire is extended to the West Bank.

Meanwhile, a German-mediated prisoner swap between Lebanon and Israel was “on the verge” of coming together yesterday, said Zvi Regev, father of one of two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah in 2006.

Israel would release hailed Lebanese fighters in exchange for the two soldiers, whose abduction spurred a 34-day war between the two countries.

Decades of talks

1967 Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria

1973 Syria attempts unsuccessfully to recapture the Golan Heights

1974 Countries sign armistice

1981 Israel extends laws into Golan Heights

1991 Talks between the two countries fail after five years

1999 US mediated talks fail

April 2008 Israel indicates that it would withdraw from Golan Heights in exchange for a comprehensive peace treaty

June Second round of talks end

Source: Times archives

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