That represented a strong reduction in activity since Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at a school bus, Israeli Thursday injuring a boy of 16 years of critically and triggering Israeli air and artillery and tank fire against targets in the Gaza Strip that killed 18 palestiniensdont 10 were activists and the rest of civilians, according to officials in Gaza.
Hamas and other militant groups have fired some 130 shells of mortar and rockets, including several mid range ones, South of Israel in the three previous days.
Israeli Minister of defence, Ehud Barak, said Sunday that Israel had received several messages stating that Hamas, the militant Islamic Group that controls Gaza, was interested in a cease-fire.
"If they stop shooting on our communities, we will stop firing," Mr. Barak said to the Radio Israel.
Hamas spokesman offered similar messages. Ghazi Hamad, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Hamas in Gaza, stated on Radio Israel, "we are interested in the calm in the Gaza Strip, but also that the Israeli army to stop their activities against our people."
Salah al-Bardaweel, the Hamas spokesman, said that Israel appears to have accepted the idea of reduce hostilities. "The factions will be devoted to the lull so that Israel is,"stated Mr. Bardaweel.""
The Government of Hamas, said that parties regional and European have helped to achieve calm. He thanked the Egypt, but has not named the other mediators.
Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel warned that if the attacks against civilians, Israelis and soldiers continued, "the response will be very severe."
Israeli analysts warned that a return to the tense calm prevailed in large part over the past two years would not compensate for the absence of an Israeli more coherent strategy vis-à-vis Gaza, nor prevent a further escalation with the potential to lead to a conflagration all azimuth.
"I believe that, in regard to Israel, we continue to follow a policy of non-politique," said Ephraim Halevy, former Chief of the Intelligence Agency for the Mossad of Israel which is now the head of the Shasha Center for Strategic Studies at the Hebrew University. Israel, said, a "sit down and develop a policy, if it is to destroy Hamas, or if it is another matter."
"People understand what is the ultimate goal", he said, adding that Hamas, too, must make decisions.
During the relative calm of the past two years, Israel and Hamas have improved the weapons at their disposal.
The latest escalation began when the military wing of Hamas fired a Kornet anti-tank missile at the school bus from a distance of approximately two miles. It was the first time, the group used a weapon advanced, guided by laser against a civilian target.
Hamas said the attack was to avenge the death of three of the militants of the group, Israel April 2 an act that Hamas has declared violated a previous cease-fire.
In another development that has changed the equation in the region, the new iron dome of Israel, defense system missile antirocket has managed to intercept the eight of the nine was more long term rockets from Gaza to cities in the South of Israeltheir destruction in the air.
The success of the Iron Dome system, which is still under evaluation, has prevented further damage and sense of security Israelis has increased. Mr. Barak, the Minister of defence, said that he has provided the Government with additional flexibility and allowed to make appropriate decisions.
Nevertheless, independent commentators note that the Iron Dome system could not protect Israeli communities close to the border and does not preclude the possibility of Hamas or Israel conducting a strike which requires a large number of civilian, same involontairementet triggering a war.
Despite its obvious benefits, the new antirocket system "serves no real solution," Ben Caspit, columnist, wrote in the daily Maariv Sunday. "The problem of Hamas in Gaza, goes to the root, is strategic in nature and is not resolved by purchasing domes of all kinds."
Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 and then took full control of Gaza a year later, after a brief war between factions. The Group has lost its popularity, leading to speculation, that he wanted to perhaps go up tensions with Israel to create a diversion. A Palestinian poll in March found that two-thirds of the inhabitants of Gaza supported events in the evolution of their Government.
But Israeli Amos Gilad, a senior official at the Ministry of defence, told journalists last week that the Palestinians would have to do the work of the suppression of Hamas themselves.
Last month, Israel has intercepted a ship merchant on the high seas and seized weapons, whose six antiship missiles, advanced, he said were destined for Gaza. Hamas is still an Israeli soldier, staff sergeant Gilad Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid and taken to Gaza in 2006.
Fares Akram contributed reporting from Gaza.
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