Ceasefire Holds Despite Muslim Brotherhood's Calls For War

A ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas continued to hold Thursday, despite urgings for an all-out war by some Muslim extremists in the region.

The truce was arranged Wednesday with the help of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

But the head of Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood denounced the peace efforts Thursday, urging for a holy war to free the Palestinian territories.

"The enemy knows nothing but the language of force," said Mohammed Badei, in a statement posted to the group’s website. "Be aware of the game of grand deception with which they depict peace accords."

The Muslim Brotherhood, which is highly influential in the region, refuses to acknowledge Israel's statehood.

Badei also said jihad is "obligatory" for Muslims, though he added that armed conflict would be the "last stage" and would only happen after Muslims achieved unity. Instead, he called on Muslims to support their "brothers" in Palestine. "Supply them with what they need, seek victory for them in all international arenas."

The recent bout of fighting started a week ago when Israel responded to rocket fire from Gaza. Israel hit the region with roughly 1,500 airstrikes on Hamas targets, while Hamas and other Gaza-based militants returned fire with a salvo of hundreds of rockets.

With 161 Palestinians killed, including 71 civilians, and six Israelis left dead, the international community stepped in to broker a truce earlier this week.

Under the deal, Gaza's ruling Hamas is to stop rocket fire into Israel while Israel is to cease attacks and allow the opening of the strip's long-blockaded borders.

"It seems to be working," said CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer. "There were reports of some rockets fired from Gaza overnight but there was no Israeli response. Hamas had appealed to people over its Al Aqsa television to respect the ceasefire that is in effect. And on Israel's side as well, there was the commitment of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu that the army would stand down."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had appealed to both sides to take a breather from the fighting in order to lower the temperature and set the stage for peace talks. While U.S. President Barack Obama himself was not involved in the negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played a key role in brokering the ceasefire, along with Egyptian representatives.

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