Day 31 of Operation Protective Edge is over.
As the third day of the 72-hour Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire progresses, Israel has signaled a willingness to extend the ceasefire again, while Hamas is threatening to resume firing at Israel once the current ceasefire expires. One of Hamas’ demands is that Israel lift its blockade of Gaza, which a non-starter, given how Hamas has diverted huge amounts of its resources to building terror tunnels and otherwise threatening Israel.
The Tower reported today on the initiative of “Yossef,” an ultra-Orthodox man in Jerusalem, and a group of his friends to get others in their community to volunteer for military service. Though his initiative is not universally accepted in ultra-Orthodox circles, he has already signed up several hundred men who are committed to the program.
All Gaza but Hamas wants a lasting ceasefire. Majority prefers reconstruction over rearmament http://t.co/J7ZPPrpa6O pic.twitter.com/AccCyd4XYp
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) August 7, 2014
Israel21C reported on an Israeli doctor who believes that he has a promising approach to cure the Ebola virus. Dr. Leslie Lobel of Ben-Gurion University is using monoclonal antibodies to fight the virus. These antibodies are derived from survivors of the disease. Lobel and his co-investigator, Dr. Victoria Yavelsky, are preparing to test their therapy on mice and non-human primates.
Egyptian officials speaking to AP anonymously putting blame for coming ceasefire collapse squarely on Hamas & IJ. http://t.co/OwGQBTwKi5
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) August 7, 2014
Recent videos of Hamas and of Israelis show starkly different cultural attitudes. The Hamas videos show a devotion to death; even children are seen expressing their desire to die for the “resistance.” Two Israeli videos show how teachers of small children get their students to safety in the event of a rocket attack and how they calm them from the trauma of a red alert.
Secretary of State John Kerry called on Hamas to disarm as a necessary condition for peace. Kerry told the BBC that any concessions Israel would make towards Gaza would have to be conditioned upon Hamas “giving up rockets.”
Brace yourself for tens of thousands of European anti-war protestors to demonstrate against Hamas' rejection of ceasefire tomorrow.
— Benjamin Weinthal (@BenWeinthal) August 7, 2014
The intransigence of Hamas has reportedly upset the Palestinian delegation led by the Palestinian Authority. Azzam al-Ahmad, a PA official, threatened to walk out of the talks because of Hamas’ lack of “flexibility.”
[Photo: Guardian281 / YouTube ]