Gaza / PNN – For the fourth time since the Israeli massacre on the Gaza Strip began on Saturday morning, the Hamas government says it will accept a “cease-fire.”

Although Hamas’s armed resistance wing, Al Qassam Brigades, is just one of several that launch crude weapons from the Strip, international claims of responsibility has remained in the party's lap.

The Israeli and American administrations have referred to “Hamas rocket attacks” dozens of times as being to blame for the Israeli killing spree that has left 417 Palestinians dead as of 7:30 pm Thursday.

This time Hamas is again saying that it is ready to accept the Paris initiative, which it also accepted yesterday when it was issued, and the day before when it was suggested. The Israeli administration refused the request for a 48 hour “cease-fire” to allow humanitarian aid into the Strip which came out of the European Union Foreign Minister’s meeting held in the French capital.

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement this evening, “Hamas has given its consent to the initiative which will stop the aggression and end the siege, open the crossings and grant international guarantees that this terrorist war of the occupation will not start again.”

The Hamas party said on several occasions as the six-month “period of calm” came to an end on 18 December that it would renew the period if the Israeli administration honored it by opening the crossings, ending the siege and stopping attacks. The Israeli administration refused the conditions.

Speaking of the political, economic and military aspects of the year and a half Israeli siege Barhoum said, “The truce must be integrated as a comprehensive package that includes a complete cease-fire and lifting of the siege and the operation of all crossings unconditionally, without the Zionist entity being in absolute power to control the lives of the people.”

The European Union, with France as its current head, said it was ready to return its observers to the Rafah crossing "to allow the re-opening in conjunction with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority and Israel." This was a largely failed agreement struck three years ago.

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