BICOM

Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, the de facto prime minister of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, yesterday ordered his security forces to enforce the undeclared ceasefire in place since the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead in early 2009. Haniyeh, according to an article in today’s Jerusalem Post, also called Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman, and informed him of his decision to enforce the ceasefire. There has been a marked escalation in rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza onto adjoining Israeli civilian communities over the last month. The attacks have been carried out not by Hamas itself, but largely by the Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees. Haniyeh’s latest move appears to be a response to Egyptian pressure and fears of a renewed Israeli military operation into Gaza. ‘Abu Mujahed’, named as the spokesman of the Popular Resistance Committees, yesterday followed an earlier statement by his Islamic Jihad counterpart and announced that his group had agreed to end attacks.