DIFFERENCES EMERGED yesterday, both within Hamas and the Israeli government, on whether or not to renew the ceasefire between the sides, which expires on Friday.
Addressing a rally of supporters, Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh said the organisation wanted improved conditions from Israel in order to extend the Egyptian-brokered truce.
But hours earlier, in the Syrian capital, Damascus, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said the period of calm would not be renewed.
A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Iman Taha, said a final decision would only be taken after Hamas consulted with the other armed factions in Gaza.
The situation is just as confusing on the Israeli side.
Yesterday, defence minister Ehud Barak dispatched senior official Amos Gilad to Cairo for talks with Egyptian representatives on renewing the ceasefire.
But at the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, vice premier Haim Ramon, who opposes the truce, said Mr Amos should not be negotiating in Egypt without a clear government mandate.
Both prime minister Ehud Olmert and the defence minister support renewing the truce. However, last week, foreign minister Tzipi Livni said the ceasefire was over, and the time had come for Israel to hit back hard against the Palestinian militants.
The relative calm on both sides of the border began to unravel a month ago after Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip to destroy a tunnel being built by militants close to the border. Since then, Palestinian militants have fired hundreds of rockets and mortars into southern Israel. Israel has carried out air strikes, and occasional minor ground incursions, targeting Palestinian gunmen.
Despite the almost daily clashes, officials from both sides have expressed an interest in restoring the period of calm.
Israel seeks a complete cessation of all rocket fire from Gaza and also believes the truce should prohibit activity by Palestinian gunmen close to the border fence.
Hamas officials have argued that the truce, if extended, should also apply to the West Bank, and should be linked to Israel easing its economic blockade on Gaza.
Fatah leader president Mahmoud Abbas has spent the last year in negotiations aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
In an effort to boost the standing of the moderate Palestinian camp, Israel is today releasing 227 Palestinian prisoners. All of them are Fatah detainees and none of them were directly involved in attacks which resulted in Israeli fatalities.