Long-term cease-fire goes into effect

[bemildred]

A cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups in Gaza went into effect at 7 P.M. local time (noon U.S. Eastern Time) on Tuesday night. The terms of the cease-fire were not immediately available.

The cease-fire was preceded by an intensive rocket and mortar barrage from Gaza, in which one Israeli was killed and six others wounded, one critically. The Israeli death toll since the hostilities began now stands at 69.

The Israeli army continued its attack on Gaza Tuesday, striking over 40 targets since midnight and killing more than six Palestinian across the Strip.

The long-term cease-fire was announced by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a short televized address on Tuesday evening and confirmed by Hamas and Egyptian representatives.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612580

[bemildred]

1. The U.S.-Israel Relationship Arrives at a Moment of Reckoning

An exclusive talk with former U.S. Special Envoy Martin Indyk on Israel’s new allies, the Gaza blowup, and why Washington shrugged when the peace process collapsed.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/26/a_conversation_with_martin_indyk_netanyahu_gaza_israel_palestine_hamas

[Jefferson23]

2. Hamas declares victory, celebrations across Palestine

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Immediately after Gaza ceasefire went into effect Tuesday evening, Hamas urged Gazans to take to the streets and “celebrate victory and the fulfillment of the Palestinian people’s demands.”

In a news conference at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that “Israeli settlers who live around Gaza can go back to their homes after ceasefire agreement went into effect.”

He announced victory and congratulated the Palestinian people and the Arab nation for the victory which he said the Palestinian resistance achieved.

“The Hamas movement won’t abandon the Palestinian people after the battle came to an end.”

Gunmen fired gunshots into the air celebrating victory, and Palestinians took to the streets across the West Bank.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723576

[Fred Sanders]

5. Victory against the propaganda, who would not celebrate?

[bemildred]

3. Senior Journalist: Hamas Gained a 'Huge Achievement'

Hamas has achieved a major achievement in its long-term ceasefire deal with Israel that started on Tuesday at 7 p.m., according to Channel 2 News’ military analyst Roni Daniel.

Commenting on the rumored ceasefire shortly before it was confirmed by the government minutes before taking effect, Daniel noted that Knesset members previously threatened that Hamas will leave the current round of fighting without a single achievement.

"But indeed gentlemen, Hamas has a huge achievement. This terrorist organization stood for 50 full days against the most advanced and strongest army in the Middle East, and did not submit," noted Daniel.

The journalist acknowledged that Hamas has been seriously hurt in the fighting; the group's financial chief and three top commanders have been assassinated in the last week, as well as potentially Hamas's military chief.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184449

[Jefferson23]

4. Ya have to appreciate the immediate reactions in the comments section..poor Bibi. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

6. The comment section of that blog site, what is it anyway, is all anti -Bibi. Lot like some sites in

America, just substitute Obama for Bibi....it means nothing in the end.

From the Haaretz site:

"On the Hamas website a senior member of the group is quoted as saying that the cease-fire agreement will include an Egyptian call for the hostilities to stop in return for opening the crossing in and out of Gaza; humanitarian aid, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip."

[Jefferson23]

7. Bibi's poll numbers are way down and this publication is supportive of the settler movement.

His voters are not happy with how things turned out, they may vote further to the right
as result.

[Fred Sanders]

9. I get the site quoted is pro-war, but Bibi knows he has lost the propaganda war and he is as

interested in that as actual war, others in his shakey Likud party just want war.

[Jefferson23]

11. They are crazier than he is, yea. His voters beliefs as indicated in the polls and in those comments

will increase against Netanyahu.

[Fred Sanders]

12. Poor Bibi. Maybe another trip to the U.N. with a Roadrunner cartoon bomb to mansplain how it is?

[Jefferson23]

14. Honestly, that may not be a stretch to see more antics like that.

I almost forgot how absurd that show was.

[oberliner]

8. It's a far RW settler website

I do not understand why posts from that site are even allowed here.

[Fred Sanders]

10. Well, the comments thread on the site is hilarious....and eerily familiar.

IsraelnationalNews? Is that like Americans for Prosperity? Just pick a keen name, fool the rubes?

Should call it "IllegallyOccupiedLandsNews"

[LeftishBrit]

22. I call it 'FarRightSettlersNews'; it is anything but a national paper

[Jefferson23]

13. You know that the group host allows it to be. You could always take your concerns to him. n/t

[LeftishBrit]

24. It's like a Tea Party site; they regard Bibi as the equivalent of a 'RINO' for teabaggers

[bemildred]

16. It represents the mind frame at work.

And why they keep losing. Disrespecting your enemies leads to bad strategy. Bibi underestimated the Palestinians. The two Ehuds underestimated Hezbollah in 2006. You don't have to like them to not do that. I give Bibi some credit for not permitting another incursion, he had the wits to see that for the disaster it would be, and the balls to take the hit for this. So yeah, I'll give him a break today.

I am not as naive about it as I was ten years ago, but I still think it is always a mistake for an advanced military to engage with rag-tag insurgencies, it never works in the long run, and it's very expensive, and it degrades your military for when a real war comes along.

[Jefferson23]

17. I will never understand why it is so difficult for him to appreciate the meaning of desperate

and capable. There were ways out that can leave you the victor without bloodshed...which
in the end gained you nothing tangible.

[azurnoir]

15. US ‘strongly supports’ Gaza ceasefire

The United States gives full backing to the announcement of a new open-ended truce between Israel and the Palestinians after 50 days of violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

“We strongly support the cease fire announcement,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says, promising a statement from Secretary of State John Kerry later in the day.

– AFP

Read more: US comes out in favor of Gaza truce; Israeli killed in mortar attack | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/day-50-hamas-confirms-talk-of-new-truce-rockets-from-lebanon-fired-at-galilee-idf-hits-back/#ixzz3BWj1OYjo
Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

[bemildred]

18. Kerry calls cease-fire 'an opportunity, not a certainty'

WASHINGTON -- An indefinite cease-fire agreement reached Tuesday between Israel and Hamas in Gaza "is an opportunity, not a certainty," US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday, throwing his "strong support" behind the agreement.

"We are approaching the next phase with our eyes wide open. We have been down this road before and we are all aware of the challenges ahead," Kerry said. "Today’s agreement comes after many hours and days of intensive discussions about how a sustainable ceasefire might provide the space and the opportunity to address long-term issues."

Kerry said that "certain bedrock outcomes" are minimal requirements for such a long-term solution, including a guarantee for Israel that terrorist attacks, rocket firings, and tunnel construction will cease.

But speaking to reporters on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the Secretary of State had no plans to restart the peace process in the near future.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/US-welcomes-Israeli-Palestinian-cease-fire-372420

[azurnoir]

21. sounds like he's

hedging his bets

[bemildred]

26. Once bitten, twice shy.

Accurate too, no cabinet vote, it could fall apart. The government might fall. Hamas will have to show it can control the rockets and govern Gaza.

On the other hand, the draftees get annoyed when they are mobilized and demobilized too many times, and it is hard to figure what other suitable targets for bombing there can be left, and Hamas won't make any friends by not keeping its word either.

[bemildred]

19. Gaza crisis: Conditions of the peace deal

---

Immediate measures

Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza agree to halt all rocket and mortar fire into Israel.
Israel will stop all military action including air strikes and ground operations.
Israel agrees to open more of its border crossings with Gaza to allow the easier flow of goods, including humanitarian aid and reconstruction equipment, into the coastal enclave.
In a separate, bilateral agreement, Egypt will agree to open its 14-kilometre border with Gaza at Rafah.
The Palestinian Authority, headed by president Mahmoud Abbas, is expected to take over responsibility for administering Gaza's borders from Hamas. Israel and Egypt hope it will ensure weapons, ammunition and any "dual-use" goods are prevented from flowing into Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority will lead in coordinating the reconstruction effort in Gaza with international donors, including the European Union.
Israel is expected to narrow the security buffer along the inside of the Gaza border, reducing it from 300 metres to 100 metres if the truce holds. The move will allow Palestinians more access to farm land close to the border.
Israel will extend the fishing limit off Gaza's coast to 9.6km from 4.8km, with the possibility of widening it gradually if the truce holds. Ultimately, the Palestinians want to return to a full 19km international allowance.

Longer-term measures to be discussed

Hamas wants Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners rounded up in the West Bank following the abduction and killing of three Jewish seminary students in June, an attack that led to the war. Hamas initially denied involvement in the killings, but a senior Hamas official in exile in Turkey last week admitted the group did carry out the attack.
Mr Abbas, who heads the Fatah party, wants freedom for long-serving Palestinian prisoners whose release was dropped after the collapse of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Israel wants Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza to hand over all body parts and personal effects of Israeli soldiers killed during the war.
Hamas wants a sea port built in Gaza, allowing goods and people to be ferried in and out of the enclave. Israel has long rejected the plans, but it is possible that progress towards it could be made if there are absolute security guarantees.
Hamas wants the un-freezing of funds to allow it to pay 40,000 police, government workers and other administrative staff who have largely been without salaries since late last year.
The Palestinians also want the airport in Gaza - Yasser Arafat International, which opened in 1998 but was shut down in 2000 after it was bombed by Israel - to be rebuilt.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-27/conditions-of-the-gaza-peace-deal/5698818

[LeftishBrit]

25. Actually all of these conditions seem pretty reasonable

But reason rarely prevails in war.

[Jefferson23]

20. Cease-fire accepted by Israel without cabinet vote

Ministers Bennett, Lieberman, Aharonovich and Erdan reject truce; agreement does not meet Hamas' demands; both sides will raise their concerns in subsequent negotiations.

By Barak Ravid

Tuesday's cease-fire agreement with Hamas was rejected by government ministers Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman, Yitzhak Aharonovich and Gilad Erdan on the grounds that it was not put to a formal vote in the security cabinet.

The ministers complained that they had merely been informed of the details of the agreement and were not given the opportunity to vote on it.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612623

[LeftishBrit]

23. Let's hope that this time it actually lasts

[bemildred]

27. Well, it's a start. Now if everyone can play nice for a while ... nt

[bemildred]

28. Israel-Hamas ceasefire solidifies untested Egyptian president as region’s top power broker

An old Bedouin proverb says, “Me against my brother, me and my brother against my cousin, and me and my cousin against the world.”

In the Gaza conflict, while Egypt and Israel may not be brothers, they are certainly cousins with a joint interest in fighting Hamas, which controls the densely populated Gaza Strip. The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, expected to take hold soon, has reinforced Egypt’s central position in the Arab world as the only country able to negotiate between Israel and Hamas.

It will also likely solidify the position of Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh Al-Sisi, a former army chief, who had little experience in foreign policy before he was elected.

“In terms of security, it is expected that he would be able to function well but he has not been tested when it comes to foreign policy,” said Maye Kessem, a professor of political science at the American University of Cairo. “If he succeeds with the ceasefire, it is good for Egypt and good for the president.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/26/israel-hamas-ceasefire-solidifies-egyptian-president-as-regions-top-power-broker/

[bemildred]

29. Palestinian factions thank Egypt for Gaza ceasefire

GAZA CITY

Palestinian resistance factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad have thanked Egypt for sponsoring indirect negotiations with Israel for reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two factions praised Egypt's role in striking the ceasefire deal that have led to the opening of Gaza's crossings.

The two groups went on to underline the depth of relations between the Palestinian and Egyptian peoples.

An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip went into effect at 07:00pm local time on Tuesday.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/379474--palestinian-factions-thank-egypt-for-gaza-ceasefire

[bemildred]

30. Peter King, David Paterson Scramble For Shelter During Rocket Attack In Israel

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and former New York Gov. David Paterson (D) quickly found shelter after Hamas rockets were fired at a town near Gaza that they were visiting on Tuesday.

King told Newsday that the New York politicians had 15 seconds to get to the shelter after hearing the sirens. King hobbled to safety on a bad ankle and someone grabbed the arm of Paterson, the current chairman of the New York Democratic Party, who is legally blind.

The missiles were eventually destroyed by Israel’s Iron Dome system, King told Newsday. The defense system is backed by U.S. funds.

"Fortunately the rockets were intercepted in the air," King said. "I could see the Iron Dome take out one of the rockets. Then I heard a couple of the thuds."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/26/peter-king-david-paterson-israel_n_5718675.html

[Jefferson23]

31. Oh for crying out loud.

King to US Congress..good investment of money..check.

[Fred Sanders]

33. Two more opportunistic politicians brandishing their policy of support Israel no matter what, a

position rapidly losing support with voters.

What a fright they must have had......no way it was a set up by the IDF for propaganda purposes.

[Jefferson23]

32. Netanyahu saw his chance to run away from Gaza, and he took it

All Israel's prime minister wanted in the end - after all the promises, and the rhetoric - was to achieve a cease-fire with Hamas at just about any price.

By Barak Ravid

Without a formal discussion, without a vote, in laconic telephone updates with members of the security cabinet – that is how the government of Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu in August 2014 approved a cease-fire agreement with a terror organization. The same Benjamin Netanyahu who ran for election five years ago, after Operation Cast Lead, on the platform that the mission had not been...

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612637