This development seems pretty strange, considering the opportunity for mischief the Palestinians have at the moment, but the major terrorist groups have announced a cease-fire in the territories:

Palestinian factions agreed to a cessation of Qassam rocket launching at Israel from Gaza. The decision was reached following a Hamas initiative and in anticipated to come into play at midnight Saturday.

That having been said, a number of militant groups already announced that they will not honor such an agreement.

So far, Fox News has reported this on their radio feed and Ynet on the wires, but no other agency has broadcast any more details. If this turns out to be true, it's a major slap in the face to Hezbollah and to their Syrian patrons. It might signal a split among Hamas factions in the territories and the terrorist leadership in Damascus, which would absolutely want Israel to fight a two-front war, if not more.

We'll keep an eye on this as it develops.

UPDATE: The agreement came out of meetings sponsored by Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, and the AP reports that it included several groups, including Islamic Jihad. However, the memo did not get down to the terorists in the field:

The agreement was reached in Gaza City following meetings sponsored by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh aimed at finding a way out of the crisis in Gaza, the officials said. Several Palestinian militant groups attended, including Haniyeh's Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have been blamed for many of the rocket attacks on southern Israel, the officials said on condition of anonymously because the agreement was reached at a closed meeting.

But two guerrilla groups said no agreement had been reached.

Abu Kosai, a spokesman for the Al Aqsa Brigades, said: "This report is baseless. We are going to continue launching our rockets toward the Zionist communities as long as the aggression continues. As long as the aggression exists, it's our right to respond."

He also said, "We made contacts with all our brothers who are working in the military field who knew nothing about this report and this agreement."

Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, said: "This is a completely false report. Resistance will continue because the aggression exists and rockets are one of the tools we use in this resistance."

Sounds like another swing at the Palestinian Triangle Offense^TM.

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