Israel Announces a Cease-Fire in Gaza. Hamas Tries to Set Conditions…
I would have continued pounding the crap out of Hamas. But, that’s probably why I’m not a politician…
Israel declares cease-fire, warns Hamas
Vows to defend itself
Joshua Mitnick
Washington Times
TEL AVIV | Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday announced a unilateral cease-fire in the three-week offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but he warned of a bruising response if the Islamists continue to fire rockets into southern Israel.
The truce, scheduled to take effect at 2 a.m. Sunday, was part of a pact with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to stop missile launches, stop weapons smuggling and highlight the Islamists’ international isolation. The proposal was approved by Israeli Cabinet ministers on Saturday night.
In a televised address from the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Mr. Olmert struck a victorious tone, declaring that “Hamas has been dealt a severe blow” and that “our goals have been reached in full.” He said that Israeli troops would remain in Gaza indefinitely and would have orders to return fire if fired upon.
To boost international political momentum for a cease-fire, heads of state from Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy will travel to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik on Sunday.
Hamas leaders said their organization would not honor the cease-fire as long as border crossings remain blocked, the economic embargo remains in place and Israeli troops remain in the Gaza Strip. In fact, in the moments leading up to the Olmert address, Hamas seemed to step up the pace of its cross-border rocket attacks.
“The occupier must halt his fire immediately and withdraw from our land and lift his blockade and open all crossings, and we will not accept any one Zionist soldier on our land, regardless of the price that it costs,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
Israel embarked on a punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip three weeks ago as retaliation for years of rocket fire on its cities. The Palestinian death toll is about 1,200, and thousands more are injured.
The risk of the unilateral cease-fire is that if Hamas does not stop firing, Israel could unwittingly be drawn into a prolonged re-occupation of the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas isn’t part of the arrangement we’ve reached,” Mr. Olmert said. “If our enemies decide that they haven’t had enough… Israel will be ready and will feel free to continue to respond forcefully. I don’t recommend that they or other terrorist groups test us.”
The Israeli-Egyptian “understandings” include arrangements for stopping the weapons smuggling beneath the Gaza-Sinai border that has boosted Hamas’ military capacity. It also comes a day after Israel and the U.S. signed a memorandum on blocking weapons shipments to Hamas before they reach Sinai.
Last year, Egypt brokered a six-month cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but it collapsed in December.
The cease-fire comes amid mounting pressure, both home and abroad, on Israel to stop its attacks. Human rights groups have protested Israel’s apparent disregard for the citizens of Gaza.
It also comes just days before the swearing in of Barack Obama as president – a date widely seen as an endpoint for the first round of fighting.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announces an Israeli unilateral Gaza cease-fire Saturday in Tel Aviv, after a three-week onslaught against Hamas.
Palestinians reacted with skepticism and called on the world leaders attending the summit Sunday in Egypt to put pressure on Israel to withdraw immediately.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES SEEKING SAFETY: Palestinians run to safety during an Israeli strike at a U.N. school in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, on Saturday. A woman and a child were killed in the strike.
“We had hoped that the Israeli announcement would be matched by total cessation of hostilities and the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza,” said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the Associated Press. “I am afraid that the presence of the Israeli forces in Gaza means that the cease-fire will not stand.”
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17 January, 2009 at 11:13 pm
It’s a real pity that more people don’t listen to c-span and especially when Ms. Livni was on talking about why Israel was doing their part on the war on terror and how for them it is a more difficult fight than for others who are basically sitting in other countries passing judgement on Israeli actions. It is a real pity more people don’t pay attention to the atrocities being committed in at least 3 African nations by The Lord’s Resistance Army. It is a real sad thing people don’t get all the work done in Afghanistan to try and bring education to the kids only to have the Taleban and other jihadists do such notable things like throwing acid in girls faces and burning down/destroying the schools. It is my opinion that anyone of any religion or any group of any religion (and perhaps a political party) who is entirely disruptive to commerce and the well-being of anywhere on the planet, who murders apostates, does not allow freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom like what is in more progressive countries, then maybe it is time for a radical change. And if that radical change involves the cessation of these religions or politicos, then that’s what it will take in order for civilization to survive in a relatively peaceful co-existance. It is more than time for archaic ideologies and belief systems/laws to become relevant to a more prosperous world. To allow people to live in modern times with dignity and respect instead of constant war-mongering, slavery and oppression. In other words, tyrannical theological fascism has got to go. And the kooks with nukes must be stopped no matter what if we want to keep this planet going longer than say 2017.
17 January, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Hamas’ demands are the same BS they’ve been peddling for years. Israel left Gaza, opened the border crossing and wasn’t firing at anyone. Hamas is playing the same old game that has worked for them for so long: demand more land and concessions, and never keep your part of the bargain. This has nothing to do with Israel being in Gaza: it has to do with Israel existing. These POSs won’t stop, ever. Israel should just obliterate all of them.
“Israel’s apparent disregard for the citizens of Gaza”?
Puh-LEASE. Who stores weapons caches and fires rockets from residential areas? Who uses Gazan citizens as human shields? Not Israel, that’s for sure. Why don’t the Gazan citizens protest Hamas? They are the ones getting [so-called] innocent civilians killed. Their silence about that shows their approval of hamas’ actions. They are accomplices, not victims.
OK, rant over.
17 January, 2009 at 11:33 pm
(last post was me. note to self: must fix home network)
Lorina,
“And the kooks with nukes must be stopped no matter what if we want to keep this planet going longer than say 2017.”
I agree with one small correction: keep the human race going longer than 2017. We could detonate every nuke in the world and the planet would recover after a few hundred thousand years (a blink of an eye in geologic age). It will go on with or without us.
In its 4.5+ billion years, Earth has had a small planet, large comets & asteroids, and volcanism beyond imagination (Deccan & Siberian Trappes, Toba, Yellowstone, Long Valley, etc). These catastrophes dwarf the worst we can even imagine. There have been at least 5 major extinction events where as much as 90% of all species died. Trust me, Earth will survive. We are fleas on an elephant’s a$$. It won’t even notice when we fall off.