By Zhang Yanyang
An international conference hosted by Egypt and the future involvement of its participants in the Gaza Strip will be pivotal to the success of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, analysts said on Sunday.
The international summit called by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss Gaza situation started in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Sunday.
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(From L to R) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa are seen at a press conference after an international summit on Gaza crisis on Gaza in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Jan. 18, 2009. [Wang Wei/Xinhua]
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The international conference, which was co-chaired by Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was attended by a number of European leaders, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Although Palestinian militants in Gaza initially defied Israel's declaration of a unilateral ceasefire by continuing rocket attacks into southern Israel, Hamas on Sunday conceded by announcing an immediate ceasefire by its fighters and allied groups in the coastal enclave.
The 22-day-old Israeli Cast Lead Operation in Gaza left much of Hamas' military framework in rubbles, struck heavily at a maze of tunnels along the border with Egypt that allowed for the replenishment of arms, and saw the death of several of its high ranking officials.
Still, Hamas insisted on calling the outcome of the confrontation with Israeli forces a "victory" and Ayman Taha, a Hamas official in Cairo for talks with Egypt on a truce deal, demanded that Israeli forces withdraw within a week.
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(From L to R) French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero are seen at a press conference after an international summit on Gaza crisis on Gaza in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Jan. 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Wang Wei) (Xinhua Photo)They also said they would not stop their attacks as long as Israeli soldiers remained in the Gaza Strip.
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"Since Hamas' position is that any ceasefire is contingent on the Israeli withdrawal, they can claim at any point in time that Israel's failure to withdraw its troops and establishes the grounds for them to continue to launch rockets," Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, told Xinhua.