Israel-Hamas Truce Begins

It isn’t likely that the six-month “tahdiya” (Arabic for “calm,” rather than “ceasefire”) that the Israelis and Hamas in Gaza have agreed will hold until Christmas. Both sides are too twitchy to expect much from the Egyptian-brokered deal. A previous ceasefire in November 2006 fell apart after just a few weeks. All the same, everyday without mortars, rockets and air-strikes is a good one.

Both sides needed to take a break from killing each other (the scorecard reads 7 Israelis and over 400 Palestinians dead). Ehud Olmert’s government is wobbling and may well fall due to corruption allegations against the Prime Minister; indeed, some say Mr. Olmert accepted the bargain to deflect attention from his troubles. On the other side, the Israeli blockade of everything except food and medicine (and even then, not everything gets in) has made life in Gaza intolerable.

If the truce holds until Sunday, the Israelis are bound by the agreement to start dismantling the blockade. However, they are still striving to secure the freedom of Corporal Gilad Schalit, whose capture sparked the most recent Israeli-Lebanese war. The main border post at Rafah that leads into Egypt will remain closed until he’s free. For its part, Hamas says Corporal Schalit “would not see the light” until hundred of Palestinian prisoners are freed as well. Further discussions in Egypt are scheduled for next week.

By agreeing to the truce, Israel has given other nations the green light to talk to Hamas. Tel Aviv can hardly complain if others seek discussions when it has negotiated a truce. Hamas won the last Palestinian election, and it is de jure a legitimate actor in the region. This truce makes that legitimacy an acknowledged fact. That may bug a lot of people, but reality is what reality is.

During this not-ceasefire, Hamas will most assuredly rearm and continue preparing for a fight. The same is true of the Israelis. Hamas has threatened that if the Israelis break the truce, it would “deliver a strike so painful it will rock the Zionist entity.” It’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, went further, saying it “will not allow Israel to betray our people. We will strike them down if they do so.” Prime Minister Olmert said just before the guns fell quiet, “This calm is fragile and is liable to be short lived. Hamas and other terrorist organizations have not changed and have not become patrons of peace. These are contemptible and bloodthirsty terrorists.” Even though the shooting has stopped, one can’t even see the road to peace from here.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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