LATEST: Israeli Intelligence Accuses Hamas of Plot to Overthrow Palestinian Authority in West Bank

UPDATE 1700 GMT: Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have put out tough statements, hours before the expiry of the five-day ceasefire.

After a situation assessment with Ya’alon and senior Israel Defense Forces officials, Netanyahu said that Israel is “prepared for every scenario”.

Ya’alon echoed that Israel i preparing for the results of the Cairo talks “whether it brings quiet or if someone tries to challenge us into escalation”: “Hamas will not drag us into a war of attrition, and if it does try, it will receive a double portion from us.”

UPDATE 1445 GMT: There is no sign of advance in the indirect talks today.

However, Ziad Nakhleh, the head of the Islamic Jihad faction in the Palestinian delegation, has said a resumption of violence is unlikely even if the five-day ceasefire is not extended when it expires at midnight.

“The war is behind us now,” he said. “We are not returning to war.”


Indirect talks between Israel and Palestine resume on Monday in Cairo, with no sign of progress before the expiry of a ceasefire at midnight in the 41-day Gaza War.

Egyptian mediators said this morning that they will seek an extension of the 5-day halt to fighting, reversing an earlier statement that this would be the last temporary ceasefire.

The deputy political chief of Hamas, Moussa Abu Marzouk, has poured cold water on an 11-point Egyptian proposal seeking a permanent halt to the conflict.

Marzouk wrote on his Facebook page that Israel effectively rejected the plan by introducing amendments to it, returning negotiations “to square one”. He claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is prisoner to domestic contradictions — he waged a ground and air offensive and lost them both.”

The Egyptian proposals included a relaxation of the Israeli blockade, an end to the Israeli buffer zone in northern and eastern Gaza, and establishment of a fishing zone up to six miles off the coast — but only through cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, excluding Hamas.

The Israeli Security Cabinet showed no sign of movement in its Sunday meeting, as Netanyahu asserted, “If Hamas thinks that it can cover its military defeat with a political achievement, it is mistaken.”

Instead, some Ministers — implicitly challenging the Prime Minister — called for an end to the talks in Cairo. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said, “We must stop the negotiations with Hamas immediately and take our fate into our own hands according to a simple formula: Humanitarian (aid) yes, terror no.”


Israeli Intelligence Accuses Hamas of Plot to Overthrow Palestinian Authority in West Bank

As Israel tries to split the Palestinian Authority from Hamas in the Cairo talks, the Israeli intelligence service Shin Bet has put out the provocative allegation that Hamas plotted to overthrow the Authority in the West Bank.

Shin Bet said that, with the Israel Defense Forces, it disbanded a Hamas cell in East Jerusalem and the West Bank which intended to overthrow Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. The plan, which included a series of attacks on Israel to destabilize the security situation, was directed by the Hamas leadership in Turkey, according to the Israeli officials.

Shin Bet specifically accused Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri of directing the plot from Turkey. Earlier this month, Israeli officials claimed al-Arouri also oversaw the killing of thre Israeli teenagers in June, the catalyst for the 41-day war.

Shin Bet has arrested 93 members, transferring 46 for interrogation. It claimed it found 600,000 Israeli shekels ($170,000), 24 rifles, six pistols, seven rocket launchers, a large amount of ammunition, and a getaway car.

The intelligence agency said the Israeli operation to thwart the plan was developed since May.

Gaza Death Toll Passes 2,000

The death toll in the Gazan conflict passed 2,000 this weekend, as victims of Israeli attacks succumbed to wounds and bodies were recovered.

Medical authorities said 2,016 Gazans have died. At least 541 children and 95 elderly are among those killed.

At least 10,193 Gazans have been injured.

Israel has lost 64 troops in the 41-day war. Two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker were slain by Gazan rockets.