The cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians is entering its second day, as 13,000 Palestinian policemen spread around the Gaza Strip to prevent the firing of Qassam rockets into Israel.
Although five rockets were fired from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel soon after the cease-fire was announced Sunday morning, Israel, for its part, has not broken the truce.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas ordered his security chiefs to preserve the truce. The Hamas-led Palestinian government also stressed on Sunday the significance of maintaining the quiet.
"It will prove the unity of the Palestinians," said the government’s spokesman, Ghazi Hamad.
All Palestinian factions agreed to participate in the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army, in return, evacuated all its military forces from the strip.
"The State of Israel is so strong that it can allow itself to hold back, to give a real chance to the cease-fire," Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a report from the Voice of Palestine Radio indicates that Olmert will soon meet with ‘Abbas and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice is scheduled to arrive in Jordan with President George W. Bush on Wednesday to participate in a conference on democracy and development.