Sources for the Hamas movement told media outlets on Monday that Palestinian resistance groups based in the Gaza Strip have agreed to stop firing home-made Qassam shells at Israeli targets. According to the source, the decision was taken to counter Israeli claims that Israeli are attacking Gaza and killing civilians because of the home made shells.
The Hamas source told the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper that the decision is not a declaration of truce but was due to the fact that Palestinian resistance obtained information of Israeli plans for a wide scale military operation in Gaza to prevent the firing of home-made shells into nearby Israeli areas.
The same source alleged that the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of knowing about Israel 's planned operation, which would also involve the assassination of Hamas officials thus facilitating Abbas gaining control of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections of January 2006, shortly after the movement formed the National Unity government; later internal bloody infighting with Fatah took place. In June 2007 Hamas ended the infighting by taking control of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah abolished the Hamas government in the Weat bank and appointed his own government to take their place.
