It is always encouraging to see a step towards peace and over Monday night it seems a step has been taken.
The Chinese news agency reported overnight Monday, that Hamas plans to take measures to halt those launching rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nounu issued a statement saying that the group would take measures "to preserve the highest interests of our people and the national consensus," and called on Palestinian factions and Gaza groups "to agree on a national accordance that draws up a certain mechanism in dealing with the changes on the ground with Israel."
Xinhua quoted "well-informed Palestinian sources in Hamas government" as saying that Hamas police forces would soon deploy and carry out field campaigns to prevent firing rockets from Gaza Strip at Israel.
The sources reportedly said that such measures would be agreed upon the nearest future with all Palestinian factions and armed groups in the Gaza Strip "in order not to give Israel an excuse to carry out more attacks against Gaza."
Why the change in policy, when it has always been a fact that Hamas and its manifesto has always had the desire and the goal to wipe Israel of the face of the earth? One can only look at past track record of Hamas and believe that the smuggling tunnels being destroyed by the IAF in response to rocket attack in Israel are carrying equipment, tool and weapons that Hamas is not willing to loose.
The underground tunnel smuggling business in totality in a billion dollar business, a business Hamas has been talking about taxing. A single tunnel can cost up to $50,000 to dig, but $180,000 per day worth of good can travel through it.
As Egypt builds its steel underground wall its hopes are to stop new tunnels from being built. They also hope to but a barricade through some of the existing tunnels as well. What you will probably see will be the influx of scrap metal being brought up into Gaza through the tunnels it tried to seal off. Why the policy change? Time will reveal the true motives behind it.
