Article

2008-06-18 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli-Hamas Truce Set to Begin Thursday

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Posted by Fred 2008-06-18 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top
File under: Hamas

#1 My dog Doofus here thinks this is about the dumbest idea he has ever heard of.

Posted by gorb 2008-06-18 04:10|| 2008-06-18 04:10|| Front Page Top

#2 Least turboimagehost never called me Doofus!

Posted by GorbsDawg 2008-06-18 08:41|| 2008-06-18 08:41|| Front Page Top

#3 it depends, the details arent all clear.

Calm is okay, of course. In general the IDF has only launched ops in response to Pal ops, so mutual restraint would only be an extension of that. Opening Rafah means reducing/eliminating the economic pressure on Hamas. But the question is, what was that buying? Was Fatah retaking the strip from hamas? Was hamas so weakened that Fatah could (would) go further in peace talks with israel? Israel was taking international PR hits from the siege, as well as continued attacks on Sderot. If this makes Hamas POLITICALLY stronger, tahts a big loss for Abbas, and the strategy of building up Abbas, but if Abbas wasnt delivering, how big a loss is that?

Of course Israel gets Shalit back, which is useful in countering the "hamas won" meme, though they have to give some Pal prisoners up.

Egypt is supposed to clamp down on arms smuggling to Gaza. Yeah, I know. With limited PA and Israeli control over Rafah, it all depends on egypt now. The Shin Bet is supposed to confirm that the Egyptians are doing their job.

Now the big controversy seems to be the q if this extends to the West Bank. That would make Hamas look like a WB player. Israel denies it, egypt says it will be extended to the WB after 6 months.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-06-18 09:21|| 2008-06-18 09:21|| Front Page Top

#4 What is not said is what happens with IslamicJihad and the other off label brands.

Posted by mhw 2008-06-18 14:18|| 2008-06-18 14:18|| Front Page Top

#5 But, of course, it's only Wednesday...

JERUSALEM - Palestinian militants launched at least 50 rockets and mortars from Gaza and Israel responded with airstrikes on Wednesday, just a day before a truce was set to take effect, illustrating how fragile the arrangement between Israel and Hamas would be.

After months of violence, the leaders of both sides expressed hope that truce would succeed but made clear they have little faith in their adversaries' commitment to the deal.

But on Wednesday, the truce still seemed remote. the military said at least 40 rockets and 10 mortar shells exploded in Israel by nightfall, an especially high one-day total. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for much of the rocket fire, saying it was avenging Israeli airstrikes that killed 10 militants in the previous two days.

Dis one's fa you, Mumtaz!

Israel hit back with two more airstrikes, wounding two Palestinians, according to Hamas security officials.

Posted by tu3031 2008-06-18 14:58|| 2008-06-18 14:58|| Front Page Top

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