Israel, Hamas could reach peace deal soon

Israel and Hamas are reportedly working towards a truce

By Peroshnie Govender
Israel and Hamas are reportedly working towards a truce. A defence official says that an agreement mediated by Egypt has been worked out.

This is despite earlier denials from the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Hamas leadership in Gaza. Israel has not launched any military operations on the embattled coastal strip for days, except for yesterday.

While the two are in talks, Israel is still holding the body of the East Jerusalem gunman who opened fire and killed eight students at a Jewish religious school last week.

The 25-year-old Alaa Abu Dheim, a former driver at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva outside Jerusalem, killed eight Jewish students and injured several others. Israeli police are demanding his family commit to holding a low key funeral before they release his body.

Meanwhile, students from the Jewish religious school where several of their classmates were gunned down last Thursday say they plan to attack an Arab Israeli official for revenge. Israel's Channel one says the attack has not been carried out yet.

However, students have reportedly met Rabbis and senior religious figures at the school to discuss the religious ramifications of such an attack. On Thursday an Arab Israeli who previously worked as a driver at the school opened fire on students in a library. The attack has deepened divisions between Israeli's Arabs and the Jewish population.