Rocket fire from Gaza continued to chase Israelis into bomb shelters Tuesday as diplomatic efforts to end the barrage centered on two key avenues: an Egyptian-brokered open-ended ceasefire, and an American-led initiative for a UN Security Council resolution.
Chico Menashe of Israel Radio reported that the ongoing conflict was generating internal pressure in Gaza on those moving up on the Hamas chain of command, “but is not necessarily making it all the way to Qatar,” where Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is hosted by the Qatari government.
Should Hamas and other terrorist groups not only agree to a ceasefire but also honor it, an Israeli delegation would only then leave for Cairo to discuss long-term details. However, it would still be a day or more before any agreement could be finalized.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a radio interview that Israel wants a ceasefire, but previous Hamas violations and demands made him wary:
We have had so many ceasefires with so many expectations, that were always either never achieved or were broken (by Hamas) after a few hours or a day that that I recommend not to build up expectations.
If there will be a long-term ceasefire then Israel will agree to it on condition that there are no conditions that impact our security.
Steinitz said Israel was again offering a mutual ceasefire and had no objections to reconstruction in Gaza or the opening of the border crossings, which he pointed out had been open in the past.
If we are talking about things that are long-term and if we do find a solution that is not for a few months or a year or two, but a long-term solution – then of course the basic condition for us is the demilitarization according to the Oslo and Gaza-Jericho First accords and according to which Gaza was supposed to be disarmed of rockets and missiles. If they truly want not just a ceasefire but the removal of the threat to the citizens of Israel… then Gaza must be disarmed of rockets and missiles exactly like Ramallah and Nablus. Nobody smuggled thousands of rockets from Iran into Ramallah and Nablus and nobody from Ramallah or Nablus is shooting at Zikim or Karmia, or Sderot or Ashqelon, or on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
It remains to be seen what wording any agreement will take, given Hamas’ refusal in the past to use the English word “ceasefire,” instead using the Arabic word for calming (‘tahadiya’) or lull (‘hudna’) since neither term implies that Hamas is laying down their arms and stopping their ongoing fight to destroy Israel.
[Photo: Hamas Spokesman Facebook page]