Ynet's Ali Waked reports that
Israel and Hamas have agreed on a 2-week truce:
Palestinian sources told... on Thursday evening that Israel and Hamas have agreed on all the general outlines of the Egyptian ceasefire initiative to end the fighting in Gaza.
According to the report, the sides have agreed on the truce, on the supervision of the smuggling issue, on the crossings and on lifting of the blockade imposed on the Strip.
According to the sources, the two sides are expected to agree on a ceasefire which will likely begin within 72 hours and last up to two weeks.
During this period of time, the parties will discuss the Israel Defense Forces' withdrawal from Gaza and the withdrawal's timing. Palestinian sources estimated that the pullback into Israel would be swift.
According to the sources, on the issue of the supervision mechanism it has been agreed that the international forces' presence would be on the Palestinian side of the Philadelphi route.
In other words, we will return to the status quo from after the Disengagement: Israel out, international forces in, with the latter doing nothing to stop the flow of arms smauuggling.
However, the Philadelphia Bulletin's Middle East Correspondent David Bedein cites a
Gaza War 'Cease-Fire' as mistakenly reported. Bedein reports:
Throughout the day and evening on Thursday, Israeli government TV and Israel government radio newsreels glorified Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit for achieving a “cease-fire” on Wednesday that Hamas has accepted. The agreement calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
However, the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv told The Bulletin that Egypt has only elicited a Hamas offer of yet another tahdia, the Arabic term for a temporary halt in hostile activity which can be violated at any time — not a sulch, the Arabic term for a total cessation of hostile activity.
Examples of a tahdia include the six-month lull in fighting that occurred between June 19 and Dec. 19, 2008, during which time Hamas facilitated 415 attacks against Israel, with little Israeli response. A previous lull that occurred between Nov. 26 2006 and May 15, 2007, and Hamas facilitated 355 attacks against Israel, with little Israeli response.
We've been
there before, which is exactly how we got to
here in the first place.
