Hamas Cease Fire Terms Could Lead to “Normalcy”
to add a note – my sense is that a good deal of the fighting over the past month was – as is the case now – over the terms of the ceasefire. Israel and the Obama Administration wants a ceasefire that goes back to the pre-fighting status quo with Gaza sealed off to the world. The fighters in Gaza, Hamas and otherwise, refuse to accept this, in part because of the horrific casualties, in part that the ending of Israel’s war on Gaza lead to a new security situation where the Gazan-Palestinians have more breathing room and open passage of people and material in and out of the zone. The previous ceasefires offered, which Israel accepted and the Palestinians rejected, refused to change the status quo. Some of the intensification of the bombardment was to punish Hamas for not accepting “their fate”. I would also point out that if the Obama Administration pressured Israel the two Gaza entry points would be opened, but to date, despite a few encouraging words (by Obama yesterday) suggesting a U.S. shift in that direction, no such pressure has been in applied.
by James M. Wall
During their temporary cease fire, Israel and Hamas are negotiating in Cairo, Egypt, for an agreement to end Israel’s third military assault since 2007, on Gaza.
Thursday night, Ha’aretz reported that the talks were “stalled”.
Friday morning, when the 72 hour agreement ended, the New York Times reported both sides resumed cross-border firing.
These shots could be “warning shots” to signal a resumption of the conflict, or they may be part of the negotiations strategy on both sides.
The conflict is asymmetrical, suggesting that more exchanges of fire would be especially harmful to the Palestinians in Gaza.
The one-sided nature of the now 30-day conflict, is seen in the human toll of Israel’s third “mowing the grass” project in Gaza. Thus far, Israel has killed 1900 Palestinians, the great majority of whom were civilians, including 400 children.
To agree to an extended cease fire with no more firing from…
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View from the Left Bank: Rob Prince's Blog 
Rob, I believe the militants in Gaza simply do not trust Sissi’s mediation . Obviously, it was clear to them that Sissi was dying to see them bust, plus the fact that Egypt closed Rafah, even for the sick and the wounded, in urgent need of medical assistance .
Anyone could have guessed that Sissi would rather see them all die, and he too, did not want to distinguish between Hamas fighters, and innocent civilians who had literally nowhere to go, for four long weeks of fierce hostilities . On top of all of that, they had to endure the intense summer heat, and the Ramadan . Having said that, Sissi’s main goal now, is to exploit the mediation role he’s been given, and impose his own initial agenda, so he doesn’t come out empty handed . Eventually, he won’t be able to pull a deal, which will probably mean that Turkey and Qatar are the new mediators, in this never ending conflict .