Egyptian FM and Clinton jointly announce Gaza ceasefire at 9 p.m.
Five Grads hit Beersheba and a shell is fired on an IDF position in Israel's northern town of Metulah on the Lebanese border minutes after the announcement in Cairo by Egyptian foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Cairo Wednesday, Nov. 21. A statement from Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Avigdor Lieberman follows half an hour before the ceasefire is due to go into effect at 9 p.m. debkafile: Prime Minister earlier called President Barack Obama to inform him Israel agreed to the ceasefire negotiated in Cairo. The exact terms agreed on for the deal that Clinton helped Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi finalize between Israel, Hamas and the Jihad Islami. Israel stood by its refusal to lift the blockade against the Gaza Strip under Hamas ruler. There is no comment from Jerusalem on the Egyptian claim that Israel agreed to discontinue targeted assassinations in the Gaza Strip. It is possible that Israel will turn a blind eye to Egypt acting to end the blockade.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier joined world leaders in harshly condemning bombing of a Tel Aviv bus Wednesday, Nov. 21, as a “terrorist attack” when she arrived in Cairo from Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Police are hunting for the bomber who placed his explosive device under a bus seat and fled before it blew up on Shaul Hamelekh Blvd. opposite the defense ministry and IDF GHQ and injured 27 people. Three are still in serious condition.
More than 75 Palestinian missiles were fired against Israel from Gaza up until 1500 hours, a good proportion intercepted by Iron Dome. The IAF struck a wide range of Hamas government offices, banks, safe house and rocket positions in the Gaza Strip.
A witness of the bus bombing reported a man placing a package on one of the seats and exiting the bus. Another claimed the package was thrown in to the bus through a window. A large dragnet has been thrown in the area for suspects and abettors. The attack took place as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was closeted in Jerusalem for her second meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to discuss the stalled Gaza ceasefire. debkafile: The Tel Aviv bus attack, recalling the 2000 Palestinian suicide bombing offensive plaguing Israel streets, could prompt an early Israeli decision to go forward with the IDF ground operation against Gaza terrorists.
Police have been on alert for terrorist attacks since last week when Hamas and Jihad Islami threatened to revert to their suicide bombing campaign inside Israeli towns.